I love coming across big, gnarly piles of stacked, unhusked corn at my local farmers’ market or a roadside stand. In my part of the world, I cook with Jersey corn—it’s sweeter and tastes better than New York corn in my opinion, and it grows bigger, too! But you can use any sweet summer corn at the peak of flavor; just stay away from prepackaged, husked ears wrapped in plastic. Look for rough-hewn bunches. Many classic corn chowder recipes call for boiling or soaking your corn, but when you simplify it and just lay your unhusked ears out on a baking tray, the corn steams inside the husk, cooking evenly without any extra mess (always a good thing!). The addition of the entire lobster, right into the broth, allows the fat and shells to impart a deep ocean sweetness throughout the chowder. And a little bit of cream goes a long way to lend a silky smoothness that doesn’t mask the pure corn flavor.
SERVES 6
6 fresh thyme sprigs
1 fresh bay leaf
1 lb [455 g] asparagus, ends trimmed and discarded
6 ears corn, in the husk
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 large Spanish onion, ends trimmed, peeled, and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, halved
One 2 lb [910 g] lobster, alive and pinching
1/2 cup [120 ml] Chablis or other crisp, dry white wine
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 medium white onion, ends trimmed, peeled, and roughly chopped
1/2 cup [120 ml] heavy cream
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Snipped fresh chives, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375°F [190°C].
Prepare an herb bouquet by gathering the thyme and bay leaf into a bundle and tying them together using unwaxed kitchen string. Set aside. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a large bowl (preferably metal) with cold water and ice cubes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and boil until the spears turn a bright green color and are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Using tongs, pull out the asparagus, plunge them into the ice water, and let cool for about 1 minute. Remove and cut into 1 in [2.5 cm] pieces and set aside.
Lay the whole ears of corn on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
Remove and set aside to cool. When the corn is cool enough to handle, remove the silks and husks. Working with one ear of corn at a time, stand it up, tip down on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the kernels by slicing downward along the ear. Since the corn is cooked, they should slice off easily and not fling around too much. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Cut the corncobs in half, place them in a large pot, and add 6 cups [1.4 L] of water. Add the salt, Spanish onion, garlic, and herb bouquet. Set the pot over high heat and bring to a gentle rolling boil—you’ll know it’s a rolling boil when you can’t get in the pot to stir it because it’s moving so fast. But you don’t want it so agitated that it makes a mess and bubbles over. Maintain a gentle rolling boil for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, we have to kill that lobster. Place the lobster on a cutting board, belly down, and using a sharp knife, plunge it between the lobster’s eyes. Now it is dead. In order for the entire lobster to fit in the pot, you have to break it into pieces. The preferred method is to break the lobster apart with your hands by holding it at the head and twisting and pulling off the tail. Repeat with the claws; twist and pull. (Once removed, snip off those rubber bands that hold them together.) Completely split the head off the body to expose the innards and, piece by piece, add the lobster to the pot, along with the wine and 1 cup [240 ml] of water, using tongs to move aside the corn cobs and making sure that the lobster pieces are submerged.
Return the pot to a boil and cook until the lobster shells turn bright red, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and, using tongs, remove the lobster pieces and set aside to cool. Use a colander set over a large heat-proof bowl and strain the liquid, pressing the solids against the bottom with a wooden spoon, squeezing out every bit of flavor. Reserve the liquid for your corn stock. Discard the rest.
In the same, now-empty pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, white onion, and half of the reserved corn kernels. Cook, stirring continuously, until the carrots and celery soften and the onion is translucent, 6 to 7 minutes.
Add the reserved corn stock, raise the heat to high, and bring it to a gentle rolling boil for about 15 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat, transfer to a blender, and add the heavy cream. Purée the soup to a smooth consistency, about 30 seconds.
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large, clean pot and strain the puréed chowder to achieve a velvety texture, removing any little lumps as you swirl it with the back of a wooden spoon through the sieve. Set aside.
Meanwhile, crack the lobster pieces, removing the meat from the tail and the claws. Chop the meat into medium pieces and add them to the chowder along with the reserved asparagus and the remaining corn kernels. Turn the heat to medium and simmer until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.
To serve, divide the soup among six bowls and top with drizzles of extra-virgin olive oil and some snipped chives.