Seafood Chowda

Seafood Chowda, with a little 92.5 FM "Brunch by the River" in the background.

Oh chowda, sweet chowda. On a cool day (with the house all to yourself) is there anything better? When I saw the reasonable prices for lobster, shrimp and haddock at the seafood counter, I knew I could swing this. I had also been saving a few lobster bodies from when we splurged on a lobster dinner a few weeks back, which would help to make a great stock. (See stock recipe at end of this entry.) The result of the homemade stock combined with fresh ingredients was OUTRAGEOUSLY GOOD.

Ingredients:

½ pound of bacon, chopped, smoked (preferred) 

6 stalks of celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 large potato, chopped (I leave skin on; washed well.)

1 cup corn, lightly cooked (best cut fresh off a lightly boiled cob)
1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt to taste (bacon is salty and Old Bay has celery salt, so go easy and taste test)

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

6 cups of seafood/fish stock*, warmed

Seafood of Choice (about 3 cups total):

1 pound haddock or cod, filets or chowder fish chuncks

3 large shrimp, peeled & chopped

3 sea scallops, shelled (remove muscle too) & chopped

1 lb lobster meat, chopped

½ cup clams, chopped (canned ok, add clam juice to stock)

1 and ½ cups heavy cream

In large sauce pan, spread out chopped bacon and turn heat to medium-low. The idea is to first render the fat off of the bacon before browning it up. Don’t stir the bacon. Just let it sit for 15-20 minutes.