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The French Laundry's "Clam Chowder"

The French Laundry's "Clam Chowder"

Parker Hallberg
We are breaking down the Michelin techniques that The French Laundry uses to elevate clam chowder into a fine dining dish.
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Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

Cod Cakes

  • 1.5 # Alaskan cod saving 7 oz triming
  • 6 oz Yukon gold potatoes
  • 4 oz Dry white wine
  • 1 ea Shallot thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves Garlic smashed
  • 3 sprigs Thyme
  • 6 ea Black pepper corns
  • 6 grams Salt
  • 1 oz Butter
  • 12 grams Extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 grams Parsley finely minced

Clams

  • 6 ea Little neck clams
  • 1 ea Garlic peeled
  • 1 ea Thyme sprig
  • 1 ea Bay leaf
  • 2 oz White wine
  • 8 oz Heavy creams

Chowder

  • 1 stalk Celery peeled, 1/16th inch, bias cut
  • 70 g Yukon gold potato 1/4th dice
  • 3 oz Butter cubed & cold

Parsley oil

  • 2 bu Parsley picked
  • 6 oz Neutral vegetable oil

Brunoise

  • 20 grams Carrot brunoise
  • 20 grams Turnip brunoise
  • 10 grams Leek tops brunoise

Instructions
 

Cod

  • Since a majority of Alaskan Cod is frozen, you want to dry this well before cutting. You will need at least 1.5# of cod. Start by removing the belly, this will allow you to have a nice thick piece. Starting from the head make single-stroke slices to cut 3 oz portions. In total, you will need 6 servings. Set them on a paper towel to soak up any extra water and store in the fridge. The trimming gets diced up and set off to the side, you will need 7 oz.

Cod Cakes

  • Peel a carrot, then using a mandolin, slice as thin as possible while keeping the slices whole, cut the carrot into thin julienne strips rotate, then cut into a fine brunoise. Do this same process to a turnip, then take the dark green leaves of a leek, cut into julienne strips then cut into a brunoise. Bring a pot of water to a boil and for every gallon of water, add a cup of salt. Blanch each vegetable individually in a strainer, then once tender, remove from the water and shock in an ice bath.  Lay the vegetables on a paper towel to remove all the excess moisture, then transfer to a smaller container. 
  • Thinly slice 1 shallot and crush 2 cloves of garlic. To a pot, add 1 cup of white wine, the shallots, garlic, 3 sprigs thyme, and 6 peppercorns. Bring this to a boil, then add in the cod trim and turn down the heat so that it is just a simmer.  Steam this for 5 minutes, or until the fish flakes apart. Remove the fish from the pot and discard the cooking liquid. Peel 6 oz of Yukon gold potatoes, cut into medium dice, then cover them with cold water by 2 inches and cook until tender. Place the cod trim in a bowl with cooked potatoes, breaking them up with a fork until evenly mixed.  Add 6 g kosher salt, 1oz butter, 12 g olive oil, 4 g finely minced garlic, 12 g bruinoise, 2 g finely minced parsley & and mix.  
  • Using a damp towel, wipe the counter, this will allow the plastic wrap to stick to your counter then roll out a 14-inch piece of plastic wrap. I found that placing two layers helps prevent the plastic wrap from breaking. Place the cod cake mixture down, spreading it out evenly in a log shape. Use the plastic wrap to help shape the log, then roll it up as tight as possible. Using the counter continue to tighten the log then tie off one of the ends. Continue to roll until it is 2 inches wide and tie off the other end. Place this in a cup to keep the shape and keep in the freezer for 4  hours or until completely frozen. 

Clams/ Sauce

  • For the clams, use a new green scrubby to clean 6 little neck clams by giving them a little scrub. Change out the water, then add some salt and purge them for two hours, changing the water out halfway. 
  • Place the clams into to a small pot with 2 oz of dry white wine 1 small garlic clove, 1/2 a shallot, 1 sprig of thyme and 1 small bay leaf.  Cover the pot  with a lid then bring to a boil.  As the clams begin to open, remove them from the pot. 
  • Strain out the cooking liquid then reduce to a glaze,  about 2-3 oz. Add in 1 c cream and slowly reduce by 50-60%. An easy trick is to mark where the liquid starts, and where it should be when its reduced. The clam sauce should have a sauce consistency, but taste it as it reduces to make sure it doesn’t become salty. 
  • Use a spoon to remove the clam meat form the shell then make sure that the two chewy adductor muscles are removed. In the book, Chef Keller leaves the clams whole, but I decided to cut them up to have more than just one bite of clam.

Chowder

  • Use a peeler to remove all of the fiber on one stalk of celery. Slice the celery on a bias at 1 /16th of an inch thin, which is as thin as you can slice it while keeping the piece whole.  Blanch the celery until tender, about 15 seconds, then shock in an ice bath and reserve off to the side. 
  • Peel one medium-sized Yukon potato, then remove one side so that it lays flat, and cut 1/4th inch planks. Place the planks in stacks of two, trim off the curved end, and cut 1/4th inch strips. Rotate, trim the end, and cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch dice. Place the dice in a bowl of water as you cut to prevent them from oxidizing. Add your potatoes to a pot, and cover with cold water. Season with salt, and slowly bring to a simmer. When they are just tender, strain them and let them cool at room temperature on a tray. 
  • For buerre monte, add a splash of cream to a pot and bring to a simmer. Drop the heat to low, then mix in three oz of cold cubed butter and store off to the side.

Parsley Oil

  • Pick  2 bunches worth, being sure to save some parsley to finely mince. The stems can be saved in the freezer and used later for making stocks.  Blanch the parsley leaves until they turn dark green, about 15 seconds, then shock in an ice bath. Once the parsley is cooled, it is important to squeeze out all the water from the leaves, they should look nice and dry. 
  • Place the parsley leaves into a blender with 6 oz neutral-flavored oil and blend until smooth. If you are using a smaller blender, be sure to do it in two batches to prevent the oil from heating up which will start to turn the oil brown. For the strongest flavor, let this marinate in the fridge for 24 hours, but it is still good right away. Strain through a sieve and I like to place linen like to filter through, linked in the description. Any extra oil can be stored in the freezer.

Al a minute

  • To cook the cod cakes, take them out of the freezer and remove the plastic wrap. Heat your knife in some hot water, then wipe away the excess moister and slice. Slice the cakes into six even pieces, then let the cod cakes sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Dredge the cakes in some all-purpose flour then pat off any extra flour.  Heat a pan over medium heat with some neutral oil and cook the cod cakes until they are GBD, golden brown, and delicious, about 90 seconds. Flip and cook the other side until GBD. Place the cakes onto a tray and into a 200 f/ 93 c oven to keep warm.
  •  For the cod, season with salt and white pepper on both sides. Heat a sauté pan on medium heat and coat the bottom in a neutral oil. Lay the fish away from you , so you don’t splash hot oil on yourself, presentation side down first. Cook them until they are GBD, about 3 minutes. Flip the fish away from you and continue to cook until the fish is cooked through. The best way to know if your fish is cooked, is to insert a cake tester, which should easily insert. 
  • To a small pot, add the buerre monte, potatoes, clams, celery, brunoise, and parsley, and heat on medium until warm.  Rewarm the clam sauce and add a splash of cream if it begins to get too salty. 

Plating

  • To plate, pipe a ring of parsley oil and add the clam sauce to the center. Top with a cod cake then garnish with the chowder. Add the sautéed cod on top of the cod cake, garnish with the chowder, and top with a piece of cod.