It took us several attempts to get Clam Chowder right, and the mixture of light cream and whole milk made this perfect.

Servings: 6

Fresh
1 oz. salt pork
1 Spanish onion
1 celery stalk
2 garlic cloves
2 medium boiling potatoes
3/4 cup light cream
3/4 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp. butter

Pantry
1 can (10 oz.) whole baby clams
2 cans (6-1/2 oz. each) chopped clams
4 oz. clam juice, divided
2-1/2  Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Prepare vegetables
Chop entire onion into a small dice and set aside, should yield about 1 cup. Peel celery and chop into small dice and set aside with the onion, should yield about 1/2 cup. Mince garlic add to the onions and celery. Peel potatoes and cut into medium dice.  Bring a stock pot with water to a boil, add potatoes, and cook until tender. Drain water and set cooked potatoes aside.

Prepare clams
Drain clams and rinse, discard the liquid, set clams aside.

Prepare the salt pork
Grind the salt pork using a meat grinder. In a large pot over medium heat, cook the salt pork until it starts to brown. Add butter to the salt pork and melt, stirring constantly.

Sauté onion and celery
Add the onion and celery mixture and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add flour to the pot and stir with a whisk for 4 to 5 minutes to cook the flour, scrap the bottom of the pan while stirring to prevent burning.

Make chowder
Add clam juice to the pot. Add salt, pepper, cooked potatoes, and clams and stir. Heat for several minutes. Slowly add light cream and milk to the soup and heat for several minutes.

Serve
Serve warm with oyster crackers.