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.

After a good amount of fat has rendered, you can choose to remove the bacon chunks (leaving the rendered fat) or leave them there (I vote to leave them in!), Next, add celery, onion, potato and seasonings, and cook for another 15 minutes.

Then, stir in cooked corn. Add butter and let melt.

Next, stir in flour to make a rue and thicken the chowder. I like mind kind of thin. If you prefer it thicker, increase butter and flour by 1 tablespoon each. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for another 5-7 minutes.

After rue has cooked (and any visible flour has lightly browned) increase heat to medium, and add stock in small in increments, stirring the veggie mixture & rue into the stock to incorporate everything. After all stock is added, bring to light simmer (reduce heat if necessary) for 5 minutes.

Add haddock filets or chowder fish chunks (no need to chop in advance; white fish flakes up in simmering liquid). Simmer just until fish is cooked; flakes up with spoon. About 5 minutes.

Other seafood, before thoroughly chopping.

Then add rest of cooked seafood and stir in cream. Reduce heat to low and serve after 5 more minutes, or keep on very low for up to 1 hour, until ready to serve. Enjoy!

To thin, or stretch for more servings when reheating, add small amounts of milk or stock.

Any leftover soup should be cooled completely in double-boiler-like set up 

with ice water in the bottom pot and chowder in the top pot/bowl.

*Homemade Seafood Stock

8 cups water in large stock pot

Lobster bodies, leftover from previous steaming/boiling & eating. I use them within 4-6 weeks of freezing.

Shrimp shells, leftover from prep for previous meals. I buy only peel-on shrimp, and peel them before cooking, saving the peels in the freezer, again for 4-6 weeks max.

Any frozen fish you don’t plan on cooking soon. I buy those frozen, individually packed 4-ounce portions of salmon, mahi mahi, halibut, etc.

Leftover vegetable skins, such as onions and carrots, frozen until ready to use.

Leftover corn cobs, when corn had been cut off of cob, frozen until ready to use

Celery stalks that went soft in fridge, frozen.

Anything else kickin’ around

Couple bay leaves, broken

Few peppercorns

Bring everything to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to medium low and simmer lightly for 4 hours, covered except for small opening (to save most evaporation from escaping; steam should roll back off the cover into the pot.). 

Remove from heat and strain everything with fine strainer, reserving stock.

Lightly simmer strained stock for another hour or so to reduce (and concentrate flavor).

Cool stock completely soon after removing from heat, with ice bath via double-boiler-like set up of ice water in bottom pot, and stock in top pot/bowl.

Refrigerate (for up to one week) or freeze (for up to 1 month) until ready to use.