# Any recommendations in cooking clam chowder and crab cake?



## Chemist116 (Oct 15, 2018)

Hello. Probably if you have read my introduction thread I'm not from the States, however I do love american cuisine. 

Lately I didn't have enough time to give a surprise to my mom as means of expressing my gratefulness of what she has done for me this year. Since she loves sea food I wanted to recreate these dishes to serve for her during the holiday season.

Let me say that my cooking skills are not very good but I consider that I learn kind of quick and as a result I really hope to get some of your community recommendations on how can I recreate these beautiful dishes here at my home in Lima. If anybody from the region (namely New England and Mid Atlantic States) is reading to this message it would meant a lot if could provide hints, suggestions and inputs on what I am about to prepare.

Okay first things first.

*Clam chowder*

As a lover of different soups this was love at first sight. Each time I saw this dish New England clam chowder on tv I often said myself. Oh boy how can I make this on my home?. But I don't know where to begin, and as mentioned above I really want to do something which it is the closest in appearance and taste to the real thing.

So far I found these videos on youtube:






this other recommendation on BBC good food shows some directions on how to do it.

The recipe as told by that website indicates that clams have to be removed from the shell after being boiled. Then butter and bacon have to be heated and put with onion, thyme and bay (not sure where I can find those where I live but I'll give my best shot). The rest as follows indicate to add potatoes and use a fork to crush those chunks. The description to which I have wrote is an excerpt from the webpage I shown above. The directions are straightforward however I'm not sure if that is the "original" or "authentic" kind of soup which I'd like to recreate at home. The ingredients mention to use butter (doesn't say exactly what kind of butter) and bacon. Are these really necessary?. I mean I really want to recreate the dish as it is served let's say in Boston or anywhere in New England but I was hoping that I could also cook a variant which is less "calorie" content. Anyways any recommendation is more than welcome.

There is this guy






which is very verbose about how to do it, I'm not sure if his technique is what is supposed to be the "authentic" clam chowder, mostly follows the recipe I found on BBC good food. The only positive aspect of it, is the visual aid that I can obtain from it. However again, I'm not really very convinced if this is the adequate way to cook the soup.

Finally there is Laura Vitale, which is good in explaining these kind of stuff and I check her channel very often when I'm in doubt






The positive aspect in the video is that she actually explains which kind of clams are preferred (although to her taste). Her recipe includes the use of corn, which is not mentioned in earlier sources. Again, is this supposed to be the original recipe or something that came out as experimenting with flavors? The final result looks as how it was shown in earlier videos but since I can't taste it from just looking at my judgement tells me that should be great as it was mentioned.

Alright moving on to my next favorite:

*Crab cake*

I also fell in love with this dish and I'm very certain that my mom is gonna love it. I did some research on Wikipedia about the dish to get an idea of what exactly it is, where does it comes from and if there are varieties. Of course full details on it are on this entry.

Although prior to that I had an idea of what it was by looking it on different programs on TV, I really felt that it was a dish I wanted to taste asap. What I love from it is that is another americana classic and popular in atlantic states (for some reason not know how to explain I feel a strong connection to that place).

To be honest, Wikipedia doesn't really say much other than to be a fishcake and that has mustard, mayonnaise, bread crumbs and sides are french fries, potato and macaroni salad.

I'm aware that there are other sources which does explain more, but moving on to the recipe which it seemed to be close to what I intend to prepare is here yes, again on BBC good food. The recipe describes using mashed potatoes, mixing it with mayonnaise & lemon juice and putting it in the fridge as to be used later. On a separate plates, flour (not sure if it meant all purpose), eggs and breadcrumbs be put and crab meat (which it has not being mentioned earlier in the entry) be dusted with flour dipped with eggs and coated with breadcrumbs. I presume that the crab meat has to be molded into disks by hand in a similar way as patties?. The rest as mentioned above with clam chowder includes adding sunflower oil in frying pan heating it, and slide the crab cakes in, but in batches. They recommend doing it until each side is crisp and golden. They also recommend drain the excess? oil in kitchen paper and serve with dill mayonnaise and lemon wedges. There is a nice picture of it in the indicated site earlier. Of course my description is just a summary as there are more details on the entry which I posted.

There are many tutorials in how to do the crabcakes, but the one which it was more pedagogical to me was from Laura's.






The video is self explanatory in many ways but for me it feels a bit of rushed without going into perhaps necessary details. I'm not complaining much on it, but again. I am not sure if what she is doing is the kind of "authentic" crab cake that it can be served in any eatery in the mid-atlantic states. At the end of the video the cakes look a little bit too brownish for me and for some reason I felt. Um, is this okay or do they look too overcooked?. Anyways the end result doesn't convince me much but it was the best that I could find. 

Of course, there is the version from the man himself






Gordon Ramsay's demonstrates his take on the classic crab cakes. I'm not sure but it looks a segment from the F word. Of course it does look neat and super exquisite rather than the earlier video. Probably what I like the most in his version is that the cake doesn't look too brown and is more golden which is probably the intended way on how to ace in this dish. Of course the presentation is superb. 

Again, all of what I mentioned for the clam chowder and the crab cakes are just part of my research but I don't feel it does count as an answer. Because of this reason I'm asking in this beautiful community that someone from the region and which does have the expertise could show me directions and recommendations and the kind of equipment that I must have to recreate these wonderful dishes and more importantly as means to give this surprise to my mom as it is quality time I want to spend with her.

As a side note, recipes take for granted crab meat, and although there are some groceries stores in my city which do carries those. Can I obtain it from alive crabs? I know it would be a ton of a work, needless to say how many I have to open and take out the meat. But for some reason I feel this is more "healthier" than just buying it the meat on the supermarket as I feel it doesn't look very fresh.

It would also help me a lot if the proposed answers can include visual aids and suggestion on decoration. As I do not want the end result looks dull or boring. Nothing fancy but something which is homemade but done with love and look cute. 

I just hope this description isn't that too long that have bored some of you, but I'm still new in the forum and I felt this was necessary to explain my needs. Thank you all for reading and I'll be more than happy to read your comments and recipes. Best wishes this holiday season!. :smile:


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## CaptTom (Dec 31, 2017)

Clam chowder is a Maine "thing." Crab cakes are more a Chesapeake thing, so I'll leave that to someone else.

First, you are correct in seeking out "real" clam chowder recipes. That crap they sell in New York isn't clam chowder at all. 'nuff said on that.

That first video certainly will produce a good chowder. I'd leave out the carrots. The third video calls for corn, which is a nice addition. Some folks make corn chowder, almost the same thing, but corn instead of clams. You can also use fish instead of clams, but add it at the very end, or it'll dissolve into nothing. Feel free to add scallops, lobster, or any seafood.

As you may be noticing, the chowder "base" is the important part. A nice, thick, creamy white semi-liquid made with butter, flour, milk or cream, and flavored with bacon or salt pork (the traditional Maine ingredient) and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper. The trick is getting the right texture of the butter/flour mixture, mixing it well with the rest of the liquid, and boiling for about one minute to cook the flour and scald the milk/cream.

Beyond that, technique and even other ingredients are less important. Potatoes have to cook, but not be too mushy. Seafood doesn't need as much time to cook. You can use one pot if you simmer for a while, adding each ingredient based on how much time it needs to simmer. The simmering time also further reduces the broth, making it even thicker and creamier.

It's really not hard, once you've mastered the base. If you know how to make any flour-based white sauce, it's really the same thing. Do NOT try to cheat with corn starch!


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

Don't know about clam chowder but here is one for the crab cakes, Southern Louisiana style. I'll post Micro-Crab Cakes.:vs_cool:


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