Ingredients

1/4 pound salt pork or slab bacon, finely diced
1 quart fresh quahogs, shucked, packed in 1 cup of their own juice (see note)
2 cups water
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 cup pounded crackers (wrap them in a kitchen towel and pound into crumbs)
2 1/2 cups diced new potatoes
4 cups milk or half and half
8 teaspoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Note: If you buy your clams in the shell, you will need to shuck them with an oyster knife and reserve 1 cup of the juice; if there is not enough, add commercially bottled clam juice.

In a large saucepan or stockpot over medium heat, saute the pork or bacon until all fat is rendered and all that remains is the cracklings. Remove them and reserve. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.

Take the clams out of their liquid and reserve it. Rinse the clams in 2 cups water. Strain the water and reserve. Finely mince the clams.

Saute the onions and clams in the pork fat for about 5 minutes. Add the pounded crackers and stir. Add the clam liquid and the reserved rinse water. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the cracklings.

In a saucepan, heat the milk or half and half; do not boil. Add to the chowder. Serve hot with a teaspoon of unsalted butter on top of each bowl. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Makes 8 servings.