Creamy New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon 
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 1 cup celery sliced
• 8 ounce bottled clam juice 
• 13 ounce clams minced undrained canned
• 2 tablespoons flour all-purpose
• 2 tablespoons parsley fresh chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 0.3 teaspoon ground pepper 
• 3 cups half-and-half 
• 0.3 teaspoon hot sauce 
• 2 small onions halved thinly sliced
• 3 cups potatoes diced red peeled
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 
• 0.5 teaspoon thyme leaves dried whole

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• ladle
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; remove bacon, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon, and set aside.
2. Saute onion, celery, and garlic in reserved bacon drippings until tender.
3. Drain clams, reserving liquid; set clams aside.
4. Add reserved clam liquid, potato, and bottled clam juice to vegetable mixture; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender.
5. Remove from pan, and let cool slightly.
6. Add butter to pan; add flour, and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually add half-and-half; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
7. Add potato mixture to white sauce in pan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in reserved clams, salt, thyme, pepper, and hot sauce; cook 1 minute. Ladle into individual serving bowls; top with crumbled bacon, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.