Copycat Disneyland Clam Chowder Bread Bowl
My first batch tasted fine and looked wrong. Too thin, basically milk with clams floating in it, because I’d dumped the flour straight into the pot with the vegetables and hoped for the best. Now I cook the butter and flour on their own for a full five minutes, in a small saucepan, before anything else happens. That separate roux is what makes the chowder cling to the spoon.
The red and green bell pepper threw me at first, since it’s not something you’d find in a New England pot. Honestly, those little sweet bits are what make it taste like the park version. I also crumble in a chicken bouillon cube and a teaspoon of Old Bay, and I go easy on the salt until the very end. We eat it straight from toasted sourdough bowls with oyster crackers on the side.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the paste smells nutty and turns pale blond. Set it aside off the heat.5 tbsp unsalted butter, 5 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion, red and green bell pepper, and celery. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a knife.2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 1/2 cups potatoes, 1/2 yellow onion, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 green bell pepper, 2 stalks celery
- While the vegetables cook, heat the oven to 350°F. Cut a lid off the top of each bread bowl at a slight angle, then pull out the soft crumb, leaving walls about 1/2 inch thick. Set the bowls and lids on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, until the inside feels dry and crisp.6 round sourdough bread bowls
- Pour the clam juice, cream, and clams with their juice into the pot. Crumble in the bouillon cube, then add the thyme, Old Bay, salt, white pepper, and hot sauce. Whisk in the roux a spoonful at a time until no lumps remain.2 1/4 cups clam juice, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 3 cans chopped clams, 1 chicken bouillon cube, 1/2 tbsp dried thyme, 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 pinch white pepper, 1/2 tsp Louisiana-style hot sauce
- Bring the chowder just to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring the bottom often so it doesn't scorch. Stop when it coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the salt and hot sauce.
- Set each bread bowl on a plate and ladle in the hot chowder. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve right away, with the lids, oyster crackers, and extra hot sauce on the side.2 tbsp fresh parsley
