Market Street Clam Chowder is so good.  It has a specific flavor and distinct taste.  I have been making clam chowder forever trying to get just the right taste.  This last batch of Clam Chowder is a dead on copycat recipe. 

There are so many veggies in this soup. I think it is the veggies and the combination of spices that give this  chowder its fabulous flavor!  If you are a clam chowder fan, you have to give this recipe a try! 

How to Make Market Street (Copycat) Clam Chowder

1. The distinct taste of Market Street Clam Chowder comes from all the vegetables.  I do not particularly like green peppers, but I put them in this soup because I am looking for the overall copycat taste. 

The vegetables add a depth of flavor that you cannot get if you leave one or some of them out.  I  want to encourage you to make this soup, the first time, using all the vegetables.  I love leeks, so they were easy for me to include, but I am fearful some people may leave them out because they do not know what they are or how to use them.  

2.  Peel, slice and cube the potatoes.  I like to slice the potatoes on the long side.  I cut them again in half and then slice 1/2 inch lines.  Cut across the potatoes and you have perfect 1/2 inch cubes of potatoes.  Once all the potatoes are diced, place them in a bowl and set aside.

3.  Cut all the vegetables into small pieces. I like to use my food processor when dicing up vegetables for any soup.  Cut the ends off the onions and peel off the outer layer.  Then cut the onion in half and cut each half into about 2 inch chunks.  I put these in the food processor and pulse until they are small pieces.   

Cut celery and onions into small pieces.

Now clean the celery and cut the ends off.  Cut each stalk in half and then cut the long stalk into about 6 pieces.  You can chop both the celery and onion together or separate.  They will both be sautéed in the butter so it doesn’t really matter.  You choose what you want to do.  

I like to chop the onion and celery chunks together in the food processor until they are small pieces that look like small slivers.  Be careful not to chop too small.  They will look like mush and have a lot of water in them.  When you see this, you know you have chopped them too small.

Leeks add a distinct taste to this soup.

Cut the leek into small pieces.  One end of the leek has small white things that look like hair.  Cut this end off.  Run the leek under a stream of water to clean out the dirt in the layers.  You will only use the white part of the leek and about an inch of the light green part.   The stiff, very dark green, part of the leek needs to be thrown away. 

Slice the leek into coins and then dice up again. When cutting up my leeks, I make two cuts in the end of it that divides it into fourths.  Then I slice across these slits and which divides each cut into fourths. Due to the fact it is an onion it will fall apart into smaller pieces.

Cut the top of the green bell pepper off by slicing across the pepper and pull out the stem. The green flesh on this lid can also be chopped and used.  Use your fingers to pull out the center of the pepper that has the seeds on it.  Discard this.  Slice the pepper in half and then slice each half into small, thin slices about 1/4 inch wide.  Once you have done that, slice across those so you have small pieces of pepper.  

4.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large soup pot on medium heat.  Add the chopped onion, celery, leek and green bell pepper.  Sauté until they are soft and tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Get all the liquids ready to add to the cooked flour mixture.

5.  While the vegetables are cooking, get all your liquids ready to use.  Open all the cans of clams and drain the liquid into a bowl or measuring cup.  If you cannot find the sherry wine, look on the condiments aisle in your local grocery store. You do not need to buy this at a special store if you live in Utah.

When a recipe calls for chicken broth, I always use chicken bouillon and add it to hot water instead.  Chicken broth takes up too much room in my pantry.  One cube of chicken bouillon to one cup of hot water is the ratio.  I really love using Knorr Granulated Chicken Bouillon.  Same ratio, 1 tsp. to 1 cup of hot water.

6. Pour all the liquids over the vegetables. Bring this to a boil. Add the cubed potatoes and bring the soup back to a boil. Add in all the spices and stir. Put the lid on the pan leaving an air pocket for the steam to escape. Reduce the heat but keep everything simmering for the next 30 minutes while you make the roux.

7. Place the rest of the butter in a shallow baking dish. Put it in a 325° oven. When melted, add the flour and stir until well mixed. Place this back in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. When you take this out of the oven, you will see the brown color of the flour as it has baked. There should be dark brown bubbles along the edge of the pan. This will add a nutty flavor to the chowder. The oven baked roux gives this soup another flavor layer to form its distinct taste. Slowly stir the roux into the vegetables over medium heat.  The chowder will be very thick at this point.

8. Once everything is well mixed, pour in the heavy cream, clams and hot sauce.  Stir until everything is well mixed.  This is a thick soup, a chowder.  If you do not like how thick it is, add milk until you reach the consistency you like. Turn the heat to low and put the lid on.  Let it cook for 10 minutes until all flavors marry.  Serve with toasted sourdough bread smeared with melted butter.

Here are a few products I like to use when cooking

Market Street Clam Chowder (copycat)

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