It may come as quite a surprise to residents of the ocean shores of New England and of the Pacific Northwest that Edwards County, Illinois, is the Chowder Capital of the World. So ordained the county commissioners in 1958 as a salute to downstate chowder, also known as southern Illinois chowder. A closer cousin to burgoo and Brunswick stew than it is to the seafood and farmhouse chowders of the coasts, it is a hunter-farmer’s dish made with beef and/or chicken (and, historically, squirrel) along with beans, cabbage, and tomatoes. Chowder season starts when tomatoes ripen and ends with the first frost.
Rarely a one-family meal, downstate chowder is cooked at church suppers, fund-raisers, and community events that are themselves known as “chowders.” Large cauldrons are used over open fires and two cooks are necessary: one to continuously stir the stew with a long-handled paddle, the other, known as the bone picker, to grab pieces of meat, remove the bones, and return the meat to the pot.