Hatteras Clam Chowder

Ingredients                        

• 1 dozen chopped fresh chowder clams, including juice
• 4 strips bacon
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, sliced
• 4 large redskin potatoes, chunked
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Cut the bacon into bite size pieces, and sauté in the soup pot until browned. Add the chopped onion and sliced celery and sauté 5 more minutes to release the flavors. Add enough water to cover these ingredients and simmer until almost soft. Meanwhile, peel and chunk the potatoes. Add these to the soup pot along with more water to cover the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are almost tender. Do not drain the pot. Finally, add the chopped clams, all the juice, salt and pepper to taste, and the chopped parsley to the mixture. Bring this all back to a simmer until the potatoes are tender. Cover the pot and let it sit for about 15 minutes to allow flavors to marry. Enjoy this very traditonal chowder with oyster crackers or hearty bread.
Hint: If you cannot get someone to shuck the clams for you while retaining all the juice, simply steam the clams just until they begin to open. Cool and do the rest yourself. Also, when we have steamed clams, I save the extra juice and freeze it for later use.