Seafood chowder has been my favorite soup since I was a kid. In the days of my youth, making a batch was as simple as dumping a can of Campbell’s New England Clam Chowder into a bowl, adding an equal measure of milk, and microwaving on high for 4 minutes. And if all you’ve ever had is some variant of that, it’s time for an upgrade. Here’s how to do it.
Note: my recipe is adapted from this one by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.
Ingredients
1/4c cooked bacon pieces*
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1-2 cups (about 10 oz) of mushrooms, stems removed and quartered
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 large ribs celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup, bottled clam juice**
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream***
1lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 bay leaf
1lb salmon filet cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into bite sized pieces****
Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings: I prefer fresh dill, hot sauce, and lemon wedges. Others could be fresh parsley or chives, crackers.
NOTES
*I’ve started buying these as a shortcut for cooked bacon to bypass the pain (and expense) of cooking bacon myself. If you have a Costco or Sam’s membership, you can get a big bag and keep it in your freezer.
**Clam juice can be found in specialty isles of grocery stores (Asian or sometimes Italian). If you can’t find it, try using seafood stock.
***You can experiment with different combinations of cream, milk, and stock (chicken or seafood). All cream can be a bit thick so if you like a “soupy-er” chowder, try cutting in something else.
****Any kind of seafood will work here, or just stick to the salmon. I prefer shrimp, but fresh calamari or scallops would also be tasty.
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook just until crisping up about 1 minute. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil and toss in the chopped mushrooms. Cook until they’ve released their moisture and begin to brown. Remove and set aside.
If the pot is dry, add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat until shimmering. Add onion and celery, season lightly with a pinch of kosher salt, and cook until softened but not browned, about 4-5 minutes.
Add bacon and mushrooms back to the pot and mix to combine. Add flour and cook, stirring, until all the flour is soaked up and the raw flour smell is gone. You want to move quickly here so the flour doesn’t scorch. Stir in clam juice, milk and cream and then add the potatoes and bay leaf. Bring the whole thing to a slight simmer and set the heat to low.
Simmer chowder, stirring every 5 minutes or so until the potatoes are tender. Raise the heat to medium and add the fish and shrimp. It should take about 4-5 minutes for that to cook through. When the seafood is done, kill the heat and start adding salt and pepper until it tastes right.
Serve in bowls topped with your fresh herbs of choice, squirt a little lemon juice on top with some hot sauce and put out a loaf of crusty bread.
Tyrone's Kitchen 