CHOWDER IN ITS INNUMERABLE VERSIONS provokes both strong feelings and contradictory claims, though most food historians agree that it derives from the French chaudière, a large iron cauldron in which sailors from Brittany on France’s Atlantic Coast tossed their catch to make a communal stew on board ship. Another possible source is the old English term jowter for a vendor of fish. It was perhaps a New World marriage of the French fisherman’s stew and the English layered fish pie with salt pork. This shipboard stew traveled across the Atlantic first to Canada’s Maritime Provinces and then down east into New England.

Chunky, Creamy Pennsylvania Dutch Chowder gets its smoky flavor from double-smoked bacon.

It didn’t take long for chowder to become a staple dish in New England and the Canadian Maritimes, with their large populations of sailors. Early chowders were quite thick with crumbled, dense ship’s biscuits, also known as common crackers or hardtack, which made them easier to eat on board. Regional variations began to develop in the early nineteenth century. Maine became known for lobster chowder and Boston for creamy clam chowder, though cod and haddock chowder were far more common. On Nantucket Island, home to seafaring whalers, the simplest of chowders included only fish or clams, salt pork, onions, salt, and pepper, thickened with flour with water for the liquid. Eventually, milk and cream replaced the water, especially in regions rich with dairy products, and butter was added for enrichment. Meatier bacon began to replace heavily salted salt pork toward the end of the nineteenth century.

By the 1830s, Rhode Island cooks were adding newfangled tomatoes to their chowder, a desecration that was abhorred by northern New England cooks. This tomato-based soup became known as Manhattan clam chowder, perhaps because harvesting clams and growing tomatoes were economically important on Long Island and were often shipped to Manhattan. Another possibility is that Neapolitan immigrants adapted their traditional tomato and clam stew to American ingredients and palates. As early as 1751, a chowder recipe included pepper, salt, parsley, marjoram, savory, and thyme. Spices such as allspice, cloves, red pepper, curry powder, and Worcestershire sauce began showing up in more sophisticated versions of this simple fisherman’s stew.

In this chapter, we prepare Alaska Wild Salmon Chowder with Bacon, Leeks, and Dill (page 126) using firm, deep red wild Alaska sockeye salmon rather than Atlantic salmon, which is now only available farm raised. The Scallop and White Corn Chowder with Roasted Poblano Chiles (page 124) is a nontraditional but hearty vegetarian soup best when sweet corn is in season. The New England–Style Clam Chowder (page 128) includes parsnips, which were far more popular in the past than today, along with fragrant celery root. The Pennsylvania Dutch Bacon, Corn, and Potato Chowder (page 130) includes corn and bell peppers in a creamy broth. The New England-Style Clam Chowder (page 128) developed on the Atlantic Islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

SCALLOP AND WHITE CORN CHOWDER WITH ROASTED POBLANO CHILES

THIS NONTRADITIONAL CHOWDER combines sweet sea scallops with tender white corn kernels and a spicy edge of mildly hot, smoky fire-roasted poblano chiles, which are all at their best in early autumn. For a heartier soup, add 1 pound (455 g) yellow potatoes, peeled and diced, after adding the flour and cook for about 10 minutes before adding the corn and diced poblanos. Poblanos, known as Ancho chiles when smoke-dried (and called Pasilla in California), come from Puebla, known for its sophisticated cuisine and the skill of its chefs. A large chile shaped like a long pointed heart, the poblano is deep green, moderately hot, and meaty in texture. This soup doesn’t freeze well.

Makes about 3 quarts (3 L), serves 8 to 10

INGREDIENTS

2 poblano chiles

6 ears white corn

1 1/2 pounds (680 g) sea scallops (untreated)

1 sweet onion, diced

1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (32 g) all-purpose flour

2 quarts (2 L) Vegetable, Fish, or Shrimp Stock (page 14, 12, or 11), simmering

3 large sprigs thyme, tied in string with 2 bay leaves

1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream (substitute light cream or half and half if desired)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Char the poblanos either over an open gas flame or directly on an electric stove coil or ceramic top, turning the chiles as they blacken. The chiles will produce a lot of smoke.

2. Cool the chiles, then rub off the skins. Have a bowl of cold water ready. Dip your hands into the water to rinse the charred chile skin pieces off.

3. Pull off and discard the stem and inner seeds. Rinse briefly to remove the remainder.

4. Place a cleaned poblano so that it lies flat. Slice into strips, then cut the strips into dice.

5. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs (see Appendix, page 145) and reserve.

6. Trim off any small, hard “catch” muscles (see “Soupmaker’s Tips,” page 53) on the sides of the scallops as well as any intestinal veins, which run like a belt on the outside of the scallops, if present. Cut the scallops into small, bite-size bits and reserve, chilled.

7. In a large soup pot, cook the onions in the butter until transparent but not browned. Stir in the flour. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes to cook out the raw taste.

8. Pour in the simmering stock (here tomato-based Shrimp Stock) and whisk to combine well so the soup thickens evenly. Add the thyme and bay leaves.

9. Pour in the cream while stirring to incorporate it evenly.

10. Add the corn kernels and then add the diced roasted chiles. Bring to a boil, stirring until the broth is smooth, about 5 minutes.

11. At the last minute, add the scallops. Cook only long enough for the scallops to get firm and opaque, about 2 minutes, stirring so they cook evenly. Season the chowder with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

SOUPMAKER’S TIP

* Small, hard, striated “catch” muscles may be attached to the side of the scallops. Grab the muscle firmly, coaxing it away from the scallop with a paring knife, and then pull it off the scallop. Tough texture equals potent flavor, so don’t throw these away. Use them to flavor the soup before straining. Alternatively, wrap and freeze them for use in a future seafood-based stock.

SAVE FOR STOCK:

Corncobs, onion trimmings, thyme stems, scallop “catch” muscles

ALASKA WILD SALMON CHOWDER WITH BACON, LEEKS, AND DILL

WITH ALL THE TECHNOLOGICAL advances that have been made in freezing techniques, often the “freshest” fish will be found frozen. Here we use wild Alaska sockeye salmon with its intense persimmon-red color and dense, lean flesh that has been filleted and frozen. When working with frozen fish, cook when the fish is not yet completely defrosted so that all the juices haven’t leaked out. Farmed Atlantic salmon is an acceptable, but not ideal, substitute. Look for frozen wild sockeye salmon in summer and early fall at warehouse club stores and other market.

Diced leek, onion, and gold potato ready for a pot of chowder.

Makes about 5 quarts (5 L), serves 12 to 16

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound (225 g) sliced bacon, chilled

2 pounds (907 g) wild salmon fillet, pin bones removed

1 bunch leeks, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, sliced, washed, scooped from the water, and drained (see Appendix, page 153)

6 sprigs thyme, tied with kitchen string

1 bay leaf

Large pinch dried hot red pepper flakes

6 tablespoons (47 g) all-purpose flour

1 quart (1 L) liquid (canned salmon juices combined with water) or you may use Fish Stock or Vegetable Stock, page 12 or 14)

1 quart (1 L) whole milk

2 cups (475 ml) light or heavy cream

1 pound (455 g) gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch (1.5 cm) dice (unpeeled if skins are thin, peeled if skins are thick)

1 small celery root, pared and diced (see Appendix, page 152)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup (13 g) chopped dill, plus extra for garnish

Grated zest of 2 lemons

1. Cut sliced bacon into 1/4-inch (6 mm) strips and crosswise into 1/4-inch (6 mm) dice. This is easier if the bacon is well-chilled or partially frozen.

2. Cook bacon in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

3. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the fish fillets, which may be in individual portions, as here, or a part or a whole side of salmon. Lay the fillet down on the counter. Grasping the back of the fillet with your nondominant hand, use a sharp boning or special flexible fish filleting knife to slice between the skin and the flesh.

4. Grasp the tab you’ve just created with your nondominant hand. While pulling back on the skin tab, begin cutting with the knife from the end of the tab to the end of the fillet using a sawing motion.

5. Keep the knife angled down toward the skin rather than up and toward the flesh. Remove and discard the skin once it has been freed from the fillet. Cut the fish into 1/2- to 3/4-inch (1 to 1.5 cm) cubes and reserve, refrigerated.

6. Pour off all but 1/4 cup (60 ml) fat from the pot. Add leeks, thyme, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.

7. Stir in the flour, which should absorb all the fat, and cook, stirring, 3 minutes to remove raw flour taste.

8. Add salmon juice mixture or stock, milk, and cream and bring just to a boil, stirring, so that the liquid thickens evenly from the flour.

9. Add potatoes and celery root and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to moderately low and simmer about 10 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender.

10. Add the cooked bacon, salt and pepper to taste, dill, and lemon zest and cook, gently stirring occasionally.

11. Add the reserved salmon and cook until barely cooked through, avoiding overcooking, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf and thyme bundle before serving. Garnish with dill.

12. Salmon chowder, piping hot and ready to eat. Extra chowder may be cooled, transferred to smaller containers, and frozen up to 3 months.

NEW ENGLAND–STYLE CLAM CHOWDER

IN 1751, THE BOSTON EVENING POST published an early recipe for chowder containing onions, salt pork, marjoram, savory, thyme, ship’s biscuit, and fish, to which was added a bottle of red wine. Thickened from the crumbled common crackers, hardtack, or ship’s biscuit, early chowders were more like stew than soup, best for onboard consumption in stormy weather. You may use packaged chopped clams, often available at the seafood counter, or small, fresh clams steamed open. New England-style clam chowder is enriched with cream and these days usually smoky bacon rather than salt pork.

Makes about 1 gallon (4 L), serves 8 to 12

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound (225 g) bacon, cut into small strips and then diced

1 large onion, diced

3 to 4 ribs celery, sliced

1/2 cup (63 g) all-purpose flour

2 quarts (2 L) milk, scalded

1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream

1 quart (1 L) bottled clam broth, juice from steamed clams, or Shrimp Stock (page 11)

2 large Idaho or gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice

2 dozen small clams (see “Preparing and Steaming Fresh Clams,” opposite) or 1-pint (261 g) container chopped clams

2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish

2 tablespoons (5 g) finely chopped thyme and/or marjoram

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Black pepper and cayenne pepper

Hot red pepper flakes (optional), for garnish

1. Sauté the bacon over low heat in a large soup pot until most of the fat is rendered.

2. Add the onion and celery and cook over medium heat until softened but not browned.

3. Stir in the flour and cook 3 to 4 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.

4. Pour in the hot milk and cream and clam broth and bring to a boil, stirring, until the broth thickens evenly.

5. Add the potatoes, and bring back to a boil. Simmer about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

6. Add the clams, chopped herbs, bay leaves, and allspice. Bring back to a boil, season to taste with pepper and cayenne.

7. Pour into serving bowls, sprinkle with a little hot red pepper flakes and chopped parsley if desired, and serve.

Preparing and Steaming Fresh Clams

Scrub the clams using an abrasive scouring pad, then soak for 30 minutes in cold, salted water with 2 tablespoons (18 g) of cornmeal added to help purge them. Remove clams from water, taking care to leave any sand undisturbed, and discard water.

Place the clams into a large pot and add 1 cup (235 ml) water, white wine, or dry white vermouth. Cover and turn the heat to high.

1. Steam the clams just until their shells fully open, removing each clam from the pot as its shell opens and shaking the pot so the clams steam open evenly. Discard any clams that were not closed or which do not open after steaming for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Set up two bowls. Pluck the clams from their shells, placing the meats in one bowl and the shells in another. Discard the shells.

3. Strain the clam broth through a dampened paper towel laid into a sieve to remove any sand, or leave behind the last 1/2 cup (120 ml) or so of broth, which will contain most of any remaining sand.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH BACON, CORN, AND POTATO CHOWDER

THIS THICK AND CREAMY soup is packed full of chunky potato, peppers, corn, and bacon, and is filling enough to serve at a Pennsylvania Dutch barn raising. If you like, use double-smoked bacon, found at Pennsylvania Dutch or German butcher shops, for a more intensely smoky flavor. Either cooked or raw corn will work here, but the soup will taste best if made with fresh young corn cut from the cob. It is made with Vegetable or Chicken Stock, milk, and cream. Because it contains both potatoes and cream, this soup does not freeze well. It will keep up to 5 days refrigerated.

Makes about 1 gallon (4 L), serves 8 to 12

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound (225 g) well-smoked country-style bacon strips, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) slices and then diced

1 large onion, diced

3 ribs celery, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/4 cup (32 g) all-purpose flour

1 quart (1 L) Vegetable or Chicken Stock (page 14 or 9)

2 pounds (907 g) gold potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes

6 ears corn, kernels cut off (see Appendix, page 145)

2 quarts (2 L) milk, scalded

1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 bunch chives, thinly sliced (optional), for garnish

Sauté bacon over low heat in a large soup pot until most of the fat is rendered.

1. Add the onion, celery, red and green pepper, and simmer until tender but not browned.

Stir in the flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to cook out the raw taste.

2. Add the Vegetable Stock and potatoes and cook all together until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes, stirring to combine well so the soup thickens evenly without developing lumps.

3. Bring the soup back to a boil, stirring to make sure it doesn’t stick and burn.

4. Add the corn, stirring to combine. Cook about 5 minutes or until the corn is cooked through.

5. Pour in the hot milk and cream, stir to combine, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Serve garnished with thinly sliced chives, if desired, and serve.

SOUPMAKER’S TIPS

* You may use leftover cooked corn on the cob here. If using raw corn kernels, add to the pot during the last 5 minutes of cooking the potatoes. If using cooked corn, add the corn kernels when the potatoes are soft.

SAVE FOR STOCK:

Onion and celery trimmings, green and red pepper cores and stem sections, potato trimmings, and corncobs.