Well first, only pints are approved for any product containing clams so you'd have to restrict yourself to pints - no quarts. No processing time is provided for quarts and even if there was one it would likely be well over 3 hours since pints are 1 hr. and 40 minutes. So this is one of those cases where the cost of processing would outweigh any convenience gained. Especially so since you already have the canned clams and the frozen potatoes so can easily make it just before serving. ;) Second, you'd have to can it by the soups rule of 1/2 and 1/2 so it would be much more diluted that you are used to - more watery than normal clam chowder and less desirable IMO. Some recipes can only be stored long term as separate components and then mixed and cooked at serving time and this is one of them I think. And yes, you would have to use the same pressure canning processing time even if you leave out the salt pork. Removing ingredients does not affect required processing time as a general rule. But all that may be moot because there are no approved recipes for re-canning any seafood products that I know of or can find. NCHFP stipulates fresh clams only. Re-canning just like re-freezing is strongly discouraged. In the case of seafood this is likely because seafood (esp. clams) are high botulism risk foods. So sorry, but I would have to say no on this one but wait and see what others suggest, ok? Especially Linda Lou as she knows all the exceptions to the rules that are allowed. Dave

99% of the time red tide clams (or any other filter feeder) will just give you a tingle. Its that 1% of the time you want to miss. I well remember having a seafood feast that involved some friends from away, the hereditary chief of the T'Sooke nation and his family and a couple of low level government wonks from the Dept. of Fisheries. we were discussing putting in a clam cleaning station, where live, beach harvested clams are allowed to clear grit and such in a controlled manner before wholesale delivery. Anyway, lots of fun but soon some of us started to have numbness in our lips and cheeks. Took a while to realize because there were some adult beverages involved (OK, a lot) It was an interesting few hours as we waited to see if we were 1%-ers. All turned out well, toxic shellfish paralysis is pretty rare but it is available.

If you have a good fish market near you, I would ask them about availability of getting a cod or haddock that has been just gutted (or headed and gutted) rather than filleted. That would give you the racks to prepare the fish stock. I found another copy of this recipe whre it says you can use the bones from sole, flounder, halibut and/or turbot. Would any of those be easier for you to come by instead of cod or haddock? Also, if you have pollack available, definitely consider it for chowder. It is a wonderfully mild white fish. I guess if you really cant get the stuff for fish stock, then I would try the shrimp stock or combination of shrimp stock and clam juice. I did find Jasper White's Rich Fish stock recipe on the Food & Wine site..... Rich Fish Stock MAKES ABOUT 2 QUARTS ingredients 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 medium celery ribs, thinly sliced crosswise 2 medium onions, thinly sliced crosswise 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced crosswise 2 bay leaves 6 to 8 thyme sprigs 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns 4 pounds nonoily fish bones, heads and trimmings, rinsed well 1/4 cup dry white wine 6 cups very hot tap water Sea salt directions Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the celery, onions, carrots, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and peppercorns to the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the fish bones, heads and trimmings and the wine. Cover and cook, stirring once, until the bones turn completely white, about 15 minutes. Add the hot water, stir gently and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir once and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine sieve. Season lightly with salt and let cool, then refrigerate. MAKE AHEAD The stock can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen in an airtight container for 1 month. Recipe by Jasper White From Simple Seafood : recipes from Jasper White This recipe originally appeared in July, 2000.

I agree with maybeldingeldine's instructions completely. They have the procedure as well as the ingredients, which mine did not. Those instructions will give you an authentic New England clam chowder. The point about mashing a few of the potatoes is a good one. Starch from the potatoes was the only thickening in chowder made by old time Yankees. They may have used a higher proportion of potatoes than I do or they may have cooked them more or maybe they just liked a thinner chowder. One point not discussed so far is preparation of the clams. Big hardshell clams (chowder quahogs) are used. Traditionally the clams are shucked by someone who is handy with a clam knife and the raw clams are chopped or run through a meat grinder. For those who find shucking clams to be daunting, the clams can be opened by steaming them, only as long as necessary to get them open. Cooking toughens clams. Note that they are added near the end of making the chowder for that reason. Use just the amount of water necessary for steaming, so as to not dilute the precious juice more than necessary. Another trick, when live clams "clam up" too strongly, making them difficult to open, is to place them in the freezer for a while to relax them. Chowder can probably be made from canned clams and bottled clam juice. I won't attempt to say how because I haven't done it. Fresh chopped clams are sometimes available in fish markets too. Jim This post was edited by jimster on Mon, Dec 24, 12 at 17:08