Chef Mikey Price shares clam chowder recipe

Mikey Price

Chef Mikey Price loves clams. How do we know that? He named his most recent restaurant, which he co-owns with celebrated chef Joey Campanaro, The Clam. This homage to his favorite ingredient is located in New York City’s East Village and just down the street from another restaurant the duo owns, Market Table. You wanna eat good? Then go see Mikey and Joey in the Village.

Of course, when we asked Price to swing a signature dish our way, it was a clam dish. More specifically, perhaps the most famous clam dish there is.

“I grew up in Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay area and while clam chowder isn’t a dish native to the area, all of the local seafood restaurants serve their version,” Price explained. “Before I became a professional chef, I remember ordering this one chowder and I was disappointed because I thought it was a shame for such great and simple ingredients to get lost in this thick bowl of cream. For me, a great clam chowder is warming and comforting, but doesn’t hide the ingredients that make it what it is. My version of chowder is light and silky and allows for the star ingredient—clams—to shine.”

Clam Chowder

(serves 6)

For the chowder base:
4 oz. diced bacon
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. chopped thyme
1 medium onion, medium diced
3 stalks celery, medium diced
2 qt. clam stock
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and rough chopped

In a medium saucepot render diced bacon until crispy. Remove. Add garlic cloves to bacon fat and brown. Add diced onions, celery and chopped thyme. Cook vegetables until tender and add clam stock. Bring to a boil and add cream and rough chopped Yukon Gold potatoes. Simmer until slightly reduced and the potatoes are tender. Puree the chowder base in a kitchen blender and pass through a fine mesh strainer. Adjust seasoning and reserve.

For the clams:
1 Tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic
3 thyme sprigs
3 dozen littleneck clams (washed)
1 cup white wine

In a medium saucepot saute the garlic cloves in butter over medium heat until browned. Add thyme sprigs followed by white wine. Bring pot to a boil and add littleneck clams and cover. Cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes until opened. Reserve.

For the soup:
1 Tbsp. butter
reserved rendered bacon
1 cup diced leeks (washed and drained)
1 cup medium diced Yukon Gold potatoes
reserved chowder base
reserved cooked littleneck clams (in or out of the shell, or both)
reserved clam cooking liquid
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
oyster crackers

In a medium saucepot add bacon to butter and cook over medium heat. Add leeks and Yukon Gold potatoes, cook slightly. Add the chowder base and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Adjust consistency and seasoning with the clam cooking liquid, salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley and ladle the chowder over the cooked clams in individual soup bowls. Garnish with oyster crackers if desired.