Rhode Island clear-broth clam chowder

 Rhode Island clear-broth clam chowder offers taste of the sea, Native tradition

'The original chowder' was made with quahogs before arrival of colonists, cows and cream

 

Creamy white New England clam chowder is the most famous. 

Blood-splatter red Manhattan clam chowder is the most reviled.

Yet salty clear-broth Rhode Island clam chowder "is the original chowder," says Jamie Coelho, editor-in-chief of Rhode Island Monthly magazine.

"The indigenous tribes of Rhode Island gathered quahogs to eat, long before the colonists arrived, and used them to make chowder."

There’s a pretty good reason that Native Americans didn’t make creamy chowder.

Rhode Island clam chowder

Rhode Island clam chowder is a clear-broth chowder made with hard-shell clams, known as quahogs, fresh herbs and potatoes. (Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

They didn’t have cows.

The animals are not native to North America.

They arrived in the Americas only with European settlers after the Columbus explorations. Indigenous people had no domesticated livestock. Dairy was not common in their diet.

Clear-broth Rhode Island clam chowder is no less delicious than its more common creamy counterpart.

It’s certainly healthier.

Instead of cream, Rhode Island-style chowder is made with clam broth — which is nothing more than salty ocean water — but often stretched with seafood or chicken stock or beer.

Meaty Rhode Island quahogs are the star of the stew.  Quahogs are large hard-shell clams with dense, flavorful meat. The shellfish grow abundantly in the Ocean State.

 

The species is found across coastal North America. The word quahog comes from the Ocean State’s native Narragansett people — also the name of a beautiful seaside town with world-class seafood.

Rhode Island clam chowder typically includes fresh herbs such as dill, while potatoes are common.

Coelho cites Sherry Pocknett, the chef-owner of Sly Fox Den Too, in Charlestown, as the state's best repository of its indigenous cuisine.

A member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, she won the prestigious 2023 James Beard Award as Best Chef in the Northeast.

"Quahog chowder," Pocknett told Coelho in an interview last year, "is a Mashpee Wampanoag recipe made with quahog clams, potatoes, onions and ground black peppercorn in a broth."

Quahog remains an iconic Rhode Island culinary and cultural idiom.

Quahog, Rhode Island is the name of the fictional town featured in the animated sitcom "Family Guy."

"The indigenous tribes of Rhode Island gathered quahogs to eat, long before the colonists arrived, and used them to make chowder."

Rhode Island's clear-broth chowder reflects the state’s deep and close connection with the ocean and its prized quahogs. 

In Rhode Island, a hunt is on for the reason for dropping numbers of the signature quahog clam

 

In Rhode Island, a hunt is on for the reason for dropping numbers of the signature quahog clam

The clam itself is a staple of clam chowders and in 1987, the Rhode Island Legislature designated the quahog the official “Rhode Island State Shell.”

By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press

 

October 25, 2023 | 8:16 AM

Scientists, lawmakers, and those who make their living from Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay are teaming up to hunt for the reason why quahogs appear to be on the decline.

Quahogs have a long history in the state. The shells of the large, hard-shelled clam were used by the indigenous Narragansett people as wampum. The clam itself is a staple of clam chowders and in 1987, the Rhode Island Legislature designated the quahog the official “Rhode Island State Shell.”

On Tuesday, a special Rhode Island legislative commission held a hearing to study the reduced catch. The commission is looking at a range of possible factors that may be contributing to a loss of the signature shellfish, from oxygen deficiency to changing aquatic life and climate change.

Quahogs — also known as little necks or cherry stones or chowder clams — are filter feeders drawing nutrients out of water columns. They don’t move much other than the first 2 to 3 weeks of their lives when they are larvae, according to Conor McManus, of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Quahogs will traditionally start spawning in mid-June first in coves along Narragansett Bay and progress through the season. A second large spawning can occur in July.

There was a peak in the harvest of quahogs in the 1950s before the dredging of the clams was banned. There was a second peak in the 1980s reflecting an improvement in water quality in the upper bay.

“Since then, we’ve seen a dramatic decline,” McManus said.

There’s also been a decline in the number of people trying to harvest quahogs from historical highs of more than 1,000 people down to about 400 people a decade or so ago, and now down to 150 to 200 people, he said.

McManus said the hunt for an answer to the quahog decline is complex. As an example, he pointed to events that might cause a drop in oxygen in the water.

Typically, those hypoxia events are seen as a negative for organisms, but there is also a competing theory that such episodes could help quahogs because it might force away potential predators.

“Over the course of a quahog’s life there is a lot of uncertainty,” he said.

Jim Boyd, a shellfisherman, said that less than half the number of quahogs is being harvested from Narragansett Bay compared to a decade ago and he and others who rely on quahogs need answers.

 

To the industry, it’s pretty clear that while there may be many factors for the drop, the primary driver is the reduction in nutrients needed for quahogs to thrive, he said.

“We really need the department and the universities to focus on this question for us because this industry is taking a significant hit over the last decade and our concern is that this is going to continue in the coming years,” Boyd said. “We’re seeing this slow, methodical decline in the abundance of quahogs throughout the bay.”

Other states along the Atlantic coast have also experienced declines in both quahogs as well as also oysters, bay scallops and soft-shell clams, according to McManus.

Quahogs feed on plankton. That also makes them key to the environment since plankton feeds on nitrates, which water treatment plants can’t filter out, making quahogs a natural source for filtering impurities out of the water, as well as being a sought-after food.

The commission is charged with reporting back to lawmakers by May 31, 2024.

RI Food

 

Stuffies

Served in the shell, stuffies are baked stuffed clams with lots of breading and butter. This Rhode Island food is so iconic that a seven-foot version of it is being placed in airports around the country to attract visitors to the Ocean State.

Clam Cakes

A deep-fried fritter made with chopped clams, clam juice and a flour base. They have a similar consistency to a hush puppy after they're fried and are more cakey than say a crab cake.

RI-style Calamari

Take a basic calamari appetizer (batter and fried squid) and toss it in butter, garlic and hot peppers, and you get Rhode Island-style calamari. The dish is the official state appetizer.

RI Clam Chowder

A lighter take on clam chowder than the New England or Manhattan versions, Rhode Island clam chowder skips the cream and the tomatoes giving it a clear broth.

Lobster Roll

Sure, Maine gets a lot of credit for their lobster rolls, but Rhode Island's are every bit as good. As a state, we're not picky about if they're warm or cold. We just like them with an ocean view.

New York System Wiener

We know, it says New York in the name, but we promise this is a Rhode Island thing. The weiners – which are a mix of beef, pork and veal – come in a natural casing that makes a 20-foot rope that the restaurants has to cut to size by hand. Once in the bun, it's covered in a spicy sauce that includes onions and ground meat.

Grinder

If you're really from Rhode Island, you'll pronounce it "grindah" and forget about the r. This Rhode Island favorite is a sandwich made with Italian cold cuts, pickles and other vegetables put on a grinder roll. You can mix up the cold cuts, but they have to stay in the salumi family.

Dynamite

A Woonsocket classic, the dynamite sandwich is a type of sloppy joe-like sandwich served in a torpedo roll with a spicy sauce often made in batches large enough to feed a crowd.

Pizza Strips

Also called a party pizza, red strips or a bakery pizza, a pizza strip is a rectangular strip of pizza, served on a crust that would be best described as focaccia, topped with tomato sauce and often a dusting of grated Romano cheese. It’s served at room temperature. 

Johnnycakes

Similar to a pancake, the main difference is Johnnycakes are made with stone-ground cornmeal. A staple at May Breakfasts across the state, they're very easy to make.

Pepper biscuits

An Italian treat, a pepper biscuit is a simple biscuit flavored with fennel and pepper rolled out into a log before being twisted into a round. The crunchy snack pairs well with a glass of wine.

Zeppole

A treat traditionally served on St. Joseph's Day, zeppole resembles a flattened cream puff, filled with cream and topped with more cream and a cherry. Traditional ones are filled with pastry cream. Others are made with ricotta cheese, chocolate cream or whipped cream and fruit.

Coffee Milk

For those who didn’t grow up drinking coffee milk from cartons in elementary school, coffee milk is exactly what it sounds like: milk mixed with a sweet coffee syrup.  The drink was invented in Rhode Island, sometime in the 1930s.  

 Del's Lemonade

Never drink it with a straw! Del's Lemonade is a frozen lemonade with roots in European fruit ices. Perfectly refreshing on a summer beach day, lemon is the classic flavor but the brand offers many others.

Doughboys

Awfully close to the fried dough you might find at any old state fair, but better because of their smaller, more manageable pillow shape. Cover these in sugar and cinnamon for maximum happiness.

Explaining the ‘stuffie,’ a uniquely Rhode Island food that’s trying to attract tourists

  

 

The stuffed quahog is part of Rhode Island's latest campaign to draw in new visitors. But what exactly is a stuffie?

Massachusetts is known for its seafood. More specifically, clam chowder, fried clams, and oysters, and the food is just one of the reasons why millions of visitors come to the Bay State every year.

But what about the rest of New England? Like, Rhode Island, for example? Also known for its seafood scene, a food that might come to mind is calamari, the state appetizer that’s tossed with hot peppers.

Instead of capitalizing on that dish’s reputation, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation is using a food in its recent campaign that is uniquely Rhode Island.

The “stuffie.”

In an attempt to draw in visitors to Rhode Island, the agency responsible for statewide economic development created a campaign starring a whopping 200-pound version of the stuffed quahog. It’s made of styrofoam, and it sits on a large plate next to an 8-foot-tall bottle of hot sauce. The agency had two of them made by local company Lance Industries.

The stuffie, which is making its way around parts of the country that offer flights to and from Providence, has been subject to some online criticism by the agency’s strongest detractors — Rhode Islanders themselves.

“We have a great culinary scene and having a giant baby pooh on a clam is not going to bring in more tourists,” one commenter said below a Boston Globe article. 

When it comes to looks alone, these oven-baked clams aren’t the most attractive plate of food, though Stephen Bucolo, president of Anthony’s Seafood in Middletown, thinks they make up for it in taste.

His business, which includes a restaurant, a seafood market, and wholesale, sells plenty of stuffies (though they sell a lot more of their calamari appetizer). Often they’re asked to explain what a stuffie is.

“Outside of Rhode Island, very few people know what they are,” he said. “When they ask, we say stuffed quahog, and then they ask what a quahog is.”

Anika Kimble-Huntley, the chief marketing officer of the Rhode Island Commerce, said that’s part of the point of the campaign. They want people in their target markets — Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, and Baltimore — to ask about the stuffie. And they are, she added.

“I think it’s great that people are talking about it,” Kimble-Huntley said. “We want people to talk about it. That’s really what the goal is, to create buzz and to raise awareness of the unique cuisine in Rhode Island.”

Kimble-Huntley said they have ambassadors on site to explain the beloved stuffie to passersby and to pump them up about a potential Rhode Island trip. There’s also a video screen next to the stuffie that shows people how they’re made, from clamming to cooking.

So, what is a stuffie?

Outside of the boundaries of the country’s smallest state, stuffed quahogs really aren’t a widely-known (or eaten) food. They show up on some menus in southeastern Massachusetts, mostly near waters where quahogs are found (like Buzzards Bay), which is the clam used when making a “stuffie.”

But quahogs are found in abundance in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Shellfish culture is important in Rhode Island, its industry worth hundreds of millions, and recreationally people enjoy clamming.

They also, obviously, really enjoy eating the catches.

Bucolo sells nearly 600 stuffies a week during peak summer season, he said. It helps that his stuffies were advertised on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives;” it also doesn’t hurt that not many people serve them.

But when they are on the menu, they’re usually always a different take on the stuffie.

“The reason it’s so beloved here is that every family makes it their own way,” Kimble-Huntley said.

Aside from the quahogs, the recipes usually call for peppers, onions, the Portuguese sausage chourico, a breading, and reserved clam juice. You can opt for a different kind of sausage — or not use one at all, and people use various breadings to put in their stuffie dish, like sourdough, Portuguese sweet bread, bread crumbs, or croutons.

Bucolo, who uses his grandmother’s recipe, puts the latter in his stuffies.

After the clams are steamed, chopped, and mixed in with the other ingredients, you bake it all together. Many serve it with hot sauce drizzled on top, but you can also use melted butter in the same way.

Bucolo said the dish is really popular during the summer months, an appetizer of choice for a football game watch party, and it pairs well with an ice-cold beer.

Now back to this giant stuffie. There is actually a chance for some Bay Staters to view the stuffie (or, as one Reddit user called it, a “creature from Star Trek”) in person at this year’s Big E in West Springfield.

Kimble-Huntley said the stuffie will be stationed in front of the Rhode Island Building.

The second stuffie is currently being driven around Michigan and Ohio, attempting to entice residents there to visit Rhode Island via Detroit’s airport.

The stuffie will eventually journey to Los Angeles, where it will join another Rhode Island-specific installation of a Newport mansion, as well as Atlanta and Baltimore.

The airport Stuffie

  

 

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island Commerce is working on a new campaign that would put installations of life-sized “stuffies” in airports across the country.

Stuffies, also known as baked stuffed clams, are a Rhode Island staple.

The goal of these installations is to get people curious about Rhode Island and hopefully draw more people to the state.

Travelers at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport have mixed reviews on whether or not a stuffie would draw people into the Ocean State. Some people said yes, but many people said something else would better represent Rhode Island.

“What would you think if you saw a giant stuffed claim in the airport?” asked ABC 6’s Alyssa Azzara.

“SpongeBob lives here, I don’t know,” said one traveler.

“Would it make you want to come to Rhode Island?” asked Azzara.

“I think so…because it looks good,” said another traveler.

“I don’t think they would come to Rhode Island for that,” said a third traveler.

Some people say no way to the stuffie, but one traveler that spoke with ABC 6 thinks it’ll peak people’s curiosity.

The whole idea of these life-sized installations is to get people’s attention.

“The goal is to make them say, ‘Well, what is that?’ And when they say what is that, we have achieved part one of of goal, which is to get their attention and make them curious,”‘ said Anika Kimble-Huntley, chief marketing officer at Rhode Island Commerce.

Some travelers think Rhode Island Commerce could have picked something different to better represent the state.

“If Rhode Island had a great coastline, or water, or mansions to visit, maybe if I saw that I’d be more interested, a quahog… probably not,” said a traveler from Rhode Island.

Kimble-Huntley said they want to draw people in with something they may not know about, have travelers talk with ambassadors about it, and then hopefully they’ll visit the Ocean State.

“If we’re able to drive food tourism to restaurants who probably need the help selling stuffies then there’s an economic impact to that, then think about the trickle down affect, now you have the shellfish fisherman.. Maybe they’ll be a greater demand for quahog,” explained Kimble-Huntley.

Kimble-Huntley said they’re also looking at doing events and marketing around the stuffies as well as looking at putting a Newport mansion installation in airports.

The stuffie installations are a part of a $4.5 million air service marketing program.

Officials hope to have the stuffie in airports in June.

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Stuffies at Portu-Galo, East Providence

Portu-Galo has opened a local food truck that is reported to be excellent and carries everything from bifana with the pork cutlet to stuffies which come highly recommended ("order the stuffies -- these Rhode Island's icons are some of the best we've had")Also recommened is Seafood Inc. Pawcatuck. 

Peter Huoppi/The Day A fresh batch of stuffed clams at Seafood Etc. in Pawcatuck