Somehow, my father’s crackers never get soggy.
With each heaping bowl of his famous clam chowder, he carefully places saltine crackers two by two – half in, half out – around the edge of his bowl. He really packs ’em in- as many as the vessel will allow.
Somehow his crackers always stay crisp, and his soup always stays hot. His salt and pepper ratios are always perfect. As a child, I made many a failed attempt at recreating that perfect bowl, but my bowl was always too cramped and my crackers always got too mushy too fast.
Why is it that the meals created by the people we love, always taste better than any replication we may attempt?
Once I realized (and accepted) I could never recreate my father’s perfect bowl, I began to explore alternatives. Over the years I have defined my approach.
My method is simple, yet complex. It’s all about timing and temperature. The hotter the soup (and you want it hot!), the sooner the cracker will disintegrate. You begin by laying a singular saltine (always a Premium – never a Zesta) upon the very hot broth and submerging it with your spoon. Let it sit for a sec, maybe even 6-9 seconds- enough to maintain the strength and integrity of the cracker while also enriching said cracker with the broth and allowing the chowder to cool to an edible temperature. Once the cracker is satisfactorily soaked, pile it with fixin’s from the broth. See below:
Then eat the whole, broth-soaked, clam-topped cracker in one bite. That’s my way and I highly recommend it. I encourage you to explore your own methods until you find one that works for you. You could try to dip a grilled cheese in it, or a sprinkling of tortilla chips or a square of cornbread if you’re feeling crazy. Some purists may even choose to eat their chowder carb-free. While I applaud and respect them, it could never be me.
Whatever your pleasure, this chowder is the best medicine for a cold winter evening.
Thank you to my father, who after some gentle prodding, agreed that I could share his top-secret recipe with my 3 readers.
Below, please find my father’s recipe for Geroux New Orleans Clam Chowder, in his own words:
Geroux New Orleans Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 Package of bacon
- 6 tins of chopped clams (better than minced)
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 1 Bunch of celery
- 3 green peppers
- 2 bunches of green onions
- 1 larger-ish yellow onion
- 2-4 red potatoes
- Salt
- 1 cup milk
- marjoram
- Oyster crackers or Premium saltines (no Zesta)
Cooking
Fry the bacon while cutting up the vegetables, which will be cooked partly in its juice.
Cut up the three peppers and then use that as a guide to cut up equal amounts of celery and onion (green+yellow). Keep the balance among the three as equal as possible. For aesthetic as well as taste reasons, the veggies should not be chopped too uniformly.
Cut up 2-4 potatoes, which will be used a little later. I use only two small to medium potatoes because I don’t want the potato flavor dominating the veggies, although more potatoes would make the soup heartier and more like classic New England CC.
Sautee the chopped-up peppers, onion and celery in a roughly equal mix of bacon grease and a healthier oil (veg., canola, olive) until they are as soft as you want them. Then add salt to taste (I usually add a couple of tablespoons at least); the cut-up potatoes; and enough water to cover them. Heat the water to a boil and cook the potatoes while you open the cans of mushroom soup and clams. Don’t discard the clam juice.
As soon as the potatoes are done (check them regularly with a fork), add the undiluted soup, which you’ll need to disperse so clumps don’t stick together. Then add the clams with their juice and the milk. Sprinkle marjoram over the soup. Turn down the heat to prevent boiling. Crumble the bacon into the soup and stir it in.
Voila! It’s ready to eat immediately. I actually think it tastes better after it simmers awhile and even better the next day.
*Author’s note about oyster crackers :
Oyster crackers are great if you can beat the 3-second shelf-life before they become a sludge of mush in your bowl. In my opinion, oyster crackers are for the dregs of chowder, after it’s cooled a bit and you’ve reached the brothy bottom. That’s my truth, you gotta figure out yours. The only wrong way to eat chowder is with a Zesta (am I right, @ William Geroux?)
Let Me Bite That 