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Seafood Chowder

Source of Recipe

From "The Tailgater's Cookbook" by David Joachim


Recipe Introduction

"My good friends Brian and Jen Fiske live in Maine, where seafood stewed with onions, potatoes, and milk or cream is known as 'chowdah.' Further south, in the Carolinas and Georgia, a similar soup (minus the potatoes) is made with female crabs and their roe. Here's a blend of these two East Coast recipes, using both crab and shrimp in a creamy stew of onions, potatoes, and half-and-half, with a little bacon for extra flavor. This recipe is easy enough to make this at the tailgate, but I make it the night before to get a jump on things. Try it at Gillette Stadium for a New England Patriots game."

List of Ingredients

◦  3 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
◦  ½ onion, chopped
◦  1 clove garlic, minced
◦  2 sprigs fresh thyme
◦  1 bay leaf
◦  4 cups (1 quart) half-and-half
◦  2 large Yukon Gold or other yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
◦  1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
◦  1 Tbsp dry sherry or white wine
◦  1 tsp salt
◦  ½ tsp ground black pepper
◦  1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
◦  8 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over to remove cartilage
◦  2 scallions, chopped


Recipe

◦  Before You Go:
Put bacon in medium soup pot over medium-low heat and cook until crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook until onions are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Add thyme, bay leaf, half-and-half, and potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in Worcestershire sauce, sherry or wine, salt, and pepper, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill in refrigerator or cooler overnight.

◦  When You Get There:
Reheat chowder over medium heat. When hot, add shrimp and cook until bright pink and firm, about 10 minutes. Stir in crab and heat just until crab is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more of any seasoning you think is lacking. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Top with scallions.

◦  Neighborly Tips:
∙ You can replace the shrimp and crab with other seafood such as chopped clams, lobster, or white-flesh fish.

∙ For thicker chowder, cook the potatoes until very tender, then mash some with the back of a spoon and stir into liquid to thicken.

Makes 8 to 10 servings