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Jerry's Recipes

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Champlain White Fish Chowder

Jerry's RecipesIF YOU LIKE MY POTATO SOUP, YOU'LL LOVE THIS NEW ENGLAND STYLE CHOWDER. Preparation and ingredients are similar to my Old Country Potato Soup. It goes together quickly but it should 'rest' for an hour or so after cooking to blend flavors and to develop the desired creaminess. It's worth the wait! For a chowder without salt pork, see my Bodega Bay version.

Many chowder recipes use flour or cornstarch for thickening. Potatoes, however, can provide the necessary 'creaminess' if they're selected and handled properly (see hints below).

My recipe calls for either thyme or savory as the herb flavoring of choice. The two are similar, with savory adding a bit of mint flavor. The difference between may be subtle but, in my opinion, savory wins the taste test here.

KeySalt pork or bacon. Salt pork provides much of the unique chowder flavor. Typical supermarket salt pork is upwards of 3/4 fat. No problem. Simply trim off the fat and use the lean meat. Lacking salt pork, substitute smoked bacon. You can cook the pork by the traditional stovetop method, but here's a much faster and neater way:

Lay out 2-3 feet of paper toweling on your kitchen counter. Place the uncooked meat on one end of the toweling. Starting at the 'meat' end, roll the toweling into a tube, tucking the sides of the toweling so that the meat doesn't scoot out the sides. Then microwave the rolled-up tube on HIGH for a minute or two. The paper will absorb most of the melted fat. Repeat with fresh toweling if necessary. Discard the fat-soaked paper and, after the meat cools, chop into small bits either with a knife or in a blender.

Key

Stock. At different times I've used fish stock, chicken stock, and clam juice. The chowder varies with each, but all produce entirely satisfactory results. Vegetable stock should work fine too.

KeyPotatoes. Chowder must be 'creamy'. Which means that you'll get best results with all-purpose potatoes — medium-starch potatoes that fall between the low-starch (waxy) and high-starch (Idaho) varieties. In other words, select Maine or 'eastern' potatoes (Burbank Russets are ideal). If the potatoes are new and have tender skins, just wash and brush the potatoes rather than peeling them.

KeyFish. Use firm white fish such as cod, haddock, pollack or hake. If frozen, remove fish from the package and thaw in a bowl of cold water. Remove any bones and skin. Do NOT cut the fish into pieces—place the fillet into the pot whole as described.

Total time about 1-1/2 hours. Serves 4-5.

SHOPPING LIST:
  • Savory or thyme
  • Medium-starch potatoes
  • Fish or chicken stock or clam juice
  • Fish
  • Heavy cream (or half-and-half)
  • Parsley or chives
      • Salt pork or bacon
      • Onion
      • Garlic
      • Carrots
      • Celery

1
Prepare meat as described above or in a large pot, cooked over low heat until crisp. In either case, cook the pork and set it aside.
  • 2-4 oz salt pork, most fat removed & diced to 1/4" or smaller
2
Add to pot and cook gently ("sweat") until onions are translucent but not browned (7-10 minutes)
  • 1-2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
  • 1 large carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry savory or thyme, crushed

3
Add to pot, raise heat, cover and boil gently about 10 minutes to just soften potatoes
  • 4-6 medium potatoes, irregularly diced
  • Reserved cooked pork or bacon from Step 1 above (reserve some for garnishing the servings)
  • about 3 cups (24 oz) stock (see above)
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • Water as needed to just cover the potatoes

4
Optional: use a potato masher to lightly crush some of the potatoes in the pot.
5
Lay whole fish fillet(s) on top of other ingredients, then cover and cook gently about 5 minutes
  • 1 to 1-1/2 pounds skinless fillet of fish, bones removed
6
Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, for a few minutes while fish finishes cooking.
7
Stir in, then let chowder rest, covered, for 15-30 minutes
  • up to 1 cup (8 oz) heavy cream or half-and-half
  • adjust seasoning

To serve: Reheat if needed. Use a slotted spoon to mound food chunks in middle of bowl; ladle broth around. Sprinkle servings with reserved pork bits, chopped parsley and/or chives. Sprinkle with paprika.

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