Oregon Coast Clam Chowder

Oregon Coast Clam Chowder.

As an impoverished University of Oregon student in Eugene in the late 1960's and carrying draft cards from both Australia and the USA, my idea of a good time was hanging out at Mo's Clam Chowder House in a run down store on the Newport Harbor Wharf and listening to Mo (Mohava Neimi) tell stories. This recipe is an adaption of the one Mo gave me. When I thanked her and asked why she she was sharing such valuable property, Mo said, "It would be hard for most people to reproduce the taste because I get all the seafood fresh off the boats tied up just a few yards away."

A Mo family comment:
At a great loss to the Oregon Coast, Mohava Marie Niemi died in 1992 at the age of 79. Her legacy lives on to this day and in 1999, Mo's Clam Chowder was a featured entree at the first luncheon ever held in the Smithsonian Institute, which celebrated the "Best American Regional Foods." She would have been proud. 

This adaption of Mo's recipe is closely tied to New England Clam Chowder.


1/2 lb. lean bacon, diced in 1/2 inch slices. I prefer thick peppered bacon.
1 large onion diced
6 cups diced, unskinned potatoes
2 TBS olive oil
3 cups of thick whole milk or half & half, or soy milk (Mo's chowder had a thick, rich, tasty milk base. Because of lactose intolerance in the family I use vanilla soy and the can of condensed mushroom soup to thicken the base.)
1 can of condensed mushroom or mushroom-garlic soup
4 cans of minced or chopped clams, 6 oz. each
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder or diced garlic
1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper

Saute bacon in the olive oil until brown in a dutch oven. If the bacon is too fatty, pour off half the fatty oil. Add the onion and saute. Add the potatoes. Add the spices and cook the mixture for about 5 minutes while stirring the mixture. Add the the rest of the ingredients and stir for about five minutes. Slow cook the covered Dutch Oven or casserole dish at 250 for 60 minutes. Serve hot with a dollop of butter and a sprinkle of mild paprika and fresh chopped parsley if available. Traditionally, clam chowder is served with saltine crackers.

One of the debates regarding clam chowder is the "overcooking" of the clams. The clams do get less tender with continued cooking. I like the clams chewy, some do not. To reduce cooking time, cook the potatoes in a steamer before adding to the mixture. Then cook the dish for 15 minutes at 250. Another debate relates to the absence of vegetables other than potatoes. I have been know to add a cup of chopped celery and enjoyed the addition.

The Newport Harbor Wharf - Oregon Coast

Linda Stradley in her web site on the History of New England Clam Chowder included the following observations.

By 1836, clam chowder was already well-know in Boston and served at Ye Olde Union Oyster House, the nation's oldest continuously operating restaurant. The building that houses the Union Oyster House is about 250 years old. Daniel Webster, the noted lawyer and orator who served as a Congressman and as Secretary of State, was a regular at the bar, where he was known for downing a tumbler of brandy and water with each half-dozen oysters--and he'd rarely eat less than six plates of the tasty bivalves!

A New England clam chowder, made as it should be, is a dish to preach about, to chant praises and sing hymns and burn incense before. To fight for. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought for--or on--clam chowder; part of it at least, I am sure it was. It is as American as the Stars and Stripes, as patriotic as the national Anthem. It is 'Yankee Doodle in a kettle.'

 Who made the first clam chowder?

 Impossible to pin on one person, but chowder, any of a variety of soups featuring salted pork fat, thickened with a flour, heavy roux, crumbled ship biscuit or saltine crackers and milk, first materialized with Breton fisherman who migrated south to New England from Newfoundland. They would take much of the offal of their daily catches and combine them with readily available ingredients in large soup pots to feed themselves, each other and their families. Over time, as it became a culinary staple in the Northeast, the recipe refined and began to be served commercially. This was when large amounts of milk and cream began to be added, giving it its characteristic look and texture we know today. Also, large slices of potato became common in the soup, and in the chowders widely recognized as the best, onions sautéed in the drippings from pork fat are also incorporated into the recipe. To this day there are usually never vegetables besides a select few legumes added to chowders, although some recipes call for thinly sliced strips of carrot to enhance the aesthetic value.