Instant Pot Clam Chowder
🍳 Cook: 4 min
Ingredients
| 3 | (6.5 oz) cans chopped clams (reserve the clam juice) | |
| — | water or a small bottle of clam juice (to add to clam juice) | |
| 5 slices | bacon, chopped | |
| 3 Tbsp | 45 ml | butter |
| 1 | onion, diced | |
| 2 stalks | celery, diced | |
| 2 sprigs | fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried) | |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | hot sauce, or 1/2 tsp tabasco sauce |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml | Worcestershire sauce |
| 1 | bay leaf | |
| 2 | cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced | |
| 1.25 tsp | 6.3 ml | Kosher salt (3/4 tsp table salt) or to taste |
| 0.25 tsp | 1.3 ml | pepper |
| 1.5 lbs | 680 g | potatoes, diced (gold potatoes, unpeeled; peel if using russets) |
| 0.5 tsp | 2.5 ml | sugar (optional) |
| 1.33 cups | 320 ml | half and half |
| 1.5 Tbsp | 23 ml | potato or corn starch (optional, for thickening) |
| — | chopped chives, for garnish |
Instructions
Source: https://damndelicious.net/2015/04/25/easy-clam-chowder/
- Open the cans of clams and drain the clam juice into a 2 cup measuring cup. Add enough water to make 2 cups of liquid. Set the clams and juice/water aside.
- Turn on the pressure cooker's Sauté function and add the chopped bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fat has rendered out of it, but not crispy.
- Add the butter, onion, celery, and thyme. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to get up all of the brown bits, until the onion starts turning translucent.
- Add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the potatoes, sugar (if using) and clam juice/water mixture and stir.
- Put the lid on the pot and lock in place. Turn the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Cancel the Sauté function.
- Set to Pressure Cook/Manual, and use the + or - (or dial) to choose 4 minutes (High Pressure). When cook time has ended, let the pot rest undisturbed for 3 minutes, then do a controlled Quick Release.
- When the pin in the lid has dropped down, carefully open the lid, facing away from you, and stir the contents.
- Use a potato masher to carefully mash some or all of the potatoes, as desired.
- Turn the Sauté function back on, and use the Lowest setting (on the IP is called Less).
- Add the clams and the half and half. Let the chowder heat through, but try not to boil it.
- If you want it thicker, you can thicken it with potato or corn starch mixed with some of the half and half, mixed well, and stir it in.
- Turn off the pot and garnish the clam chowder with chopped chives, and serve with crackers or some nice bread or rolls.
Recipe Notes: An alternative to the canned clams is 1 lb of frozen clams and a bottle of clam juice. Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream. Note: if cooking on the stovetop, boil the potatoes for 15 minutes before adding the clams.