Clam Chowder

Motivation
This recipe is based off the "Quick Pantry Clam Chowder" variation of the New England Clam Chowder recipe in The Best Recipe Cookbook.  I've mutated the recipe into my own thing after making it repeatedly over the years.  This is a soup that Dawn will request a couple of times a year.  I don't think I can really call it New England Clam Chowder anymore because New England Clam Chowders typically have cream in them and stopped adding the cream when I realized that it didn't add anything to my version of the soup.

My problem with the original recipe is it never produced a chowder that was thick enough for my liking.  I want a nice thick chowder for cold weather.  Adding cream didn't do anything to appreciably thicken it up.  Then one day when I was making a squash bisque and I suddenly had an inspiration on how to fix my chowder: blend the cooked potatoes into the broth to thicken it.

Ingredients
2 x 8-oz bottles Clam Juice
4 x 6.5 oz cans Minced Clams
6-8 slices Bacon
~4 medium Potatoes (you need enough that you can blend some and still have chunks left over)
1 large Onion
3 tbsp Flour
Dried Thyme
Back Pepper

Mise en Place
Peal and dice potatoes into bite-sized pieces.  Chop Onion.  Dice bacon.  Keep these three items separate because they are added at different stages.

Save the juice from the four cans of minced clams in a container so you can add it with the bottles of clam juice later.

Method
Place small stock pot over medium heat.  Add diced bacon to the pot and stir occasionally until fat has rendered out and bacon is starting to crisp.  Add onions to the pot and cook until softened.  Add flour to the pot and stir to absorb all the bacon grease.  Congratulations, you've just made a roux.  Cook the roux for a couple of minutes.

Add reserved clam juice from cans to the pot a bit at a time.  The roux will dissolve and form a thick liquid.  Continue to add clam juice from clans and then the two bottles.  Once all clam juice is added, add potatoes and thyme to the pot and bring to a simmer.  Simmer until potatoes are soft and crumbly (like for mash potatoes) around 10 minutes.  I usually test them with a fork to see if they're ready.

When potatoes are ready use a slotted spoon to remove 3/4th of the bacon and potatoes from the pot and reserve in a bowl.  This will be the potato and bacon chunks that will be in the final soup.  We're going to blend the rest to thicken the chowder.  I use an immersion blender to blend the remaining quarter of potatoes and bacon right in the stock pot, transferring the contents to a blender would work too.  If the chowder isn't thick enough after blending potatoes and bacon into the broth you can always add a few more potatoes from your reserved stash.

Once desired consistency is reached add reserved potatoes, bacon, and minced clams into chowder.  I usual add a healthy dose of ground black pepper at this point too.  Stir together and serve.