Clam Chowder French Fries
Clam chowder is an incredible topping for french fries! It’s like having french fries and gravy, but with a creamy seafood twist! I love this combo so much that I made all this from scratch, but a cool thing about this recipe is that there are some really great store bought chowders and french fries. You can make this whole thing super easily and it would be almost just as good!
The inspiration behind this recipe
I ate a lot of french fries and seafood over the weekend, and I was loving the combination. I had some fish and chips, some fried clams, and an oyster and shrimp po boy, and they all came with fries. Brainstorming ways to integrate the seafood and fries more, I thought of the idea of just dumping some clam chowder on top of a pile of fries. Similar to the way you would dump gravy on for poutine. I made the fries nice and thick, and made the chowder more thick and sauce-like with lots of clam, no potatoes, and no big chunks of anything.
Prepping the french fries
I made nice thick fries. As you cut them, get them into a water bath. Add a little ice and then put them in the fridge for a few hours. This helps get extra starch out of the potato so they can be super crispy.
Frying the French fries
prep your fryer, or a big heavy pot with lots of oil. Get the oil to 300 and fry the fries until tender. They will be limp and have no color at this point. Remove from the fryer and turn the heat up to 375.
Drop the fries in to the hotter oil and cook them until they get perfectly crispy! Transfer to a rack and season with salt.
But after you fry them a second time at 375, they get so crispy and delicious!
Make the clam chowder
I just made a simple chowder but I made it extra thick and creamy to go perfectly with the fries. Can’t make clam chowder without bacon, and coincidentally it goes well with french fries too! Cook the bacon, then remove it from the pan and cook the veggies in the bacon fat.
Lots of clams in there, and some corn was a last minute addition that was a great idea! I thickened the soup with dehydrated potato flakes and it made it the perfect texture.
Serving the clam chowder french fries
Pile up some fries on a plate, then dump the soup right on top of the fries.
Top the soup with that bacon you used in step one of the chowder. Also some chives are really nice on here!
This dish is amazing. Creamy clammy goodness on top of crispy and piping hot french fries. These are also the best fries I have ever made! I need to make more french fries.
The bacon and fresh chives on top are the perfect garnish for these clam chowder French fries.
Twists on Clam Chowder French Fries
You could make this pescatarian if you don’t want to use the bacon. You could do a bacon substitute, or just omit it! I like to add a little chipotle if I am not using bacon to add the smoky goodness.
You could also make this much easier if you use store bought fries or clam chowder! You could also use your favorite clam chowder recipe instead of the one I made, Just make sure it is thick enough to cling to the fries! Looking for a more classic clam chowder recipe, check this one out!
If you love using clam chowder in unique ways, check out my chowder dogs, or these clam chowder ravioli!
Clam Chowder French Fries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 russet potatoes
- 1 pound raw clam with juices
- 8 ounces bacon chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 small carrots diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup cream
- 1 cup potato flakes
- 1 cup corn
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Cut the fries and add them to a bowl of cold water as you cut them. Strain and refill with water, and repeat one more time. Add ice to the bowl and put into the fridge for 2 hours.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet to brown. Remove from pan. Drain out some of the fat, leaving a few tablespoons in the pan. Add in the butter and then the onion, carrot, and celery. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you cook to incorporate the yummy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook about 5-7 minutes until softened and almost starting to brown. Mix in the garlic and cook 2 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in the potato flakes to thicken the sauce. You may need a little more for desired thickness. You want this to be on the thick side to cling to the fries! Return to heat and bring to a simmer, paying attention to stirring and not burning on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the corn and clams and simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Remove the fries from the water and lay out on some paper towels to dry. Fry in batches at 300 for about 8 minutes until a fork goes through without much resistance. Remove from oil. Heat oil to 375 and fry your fries again for about 3 minutes to crisp up. Remove from oil and salt immediately.
- Put the fries on a plate and dump the soup on top. Top with bacon and chives and serve immediately!
Only you would dream up this perfect combination of junk food and chowder that is oh-so Boston!