Wicked Good Newfoundland Seafood Chowder

I am always thinking about food. What to eat and how to cook it. Through food, A Wicked Scoff has allowed me to blend my Newfoundland culture and heritage with my newly found New England influences and excursions.

When thinking of a meal to share with Downhome Magazine as a column featuring A Wicked Scoff for the January issue (http://www.downhomelife.com), I was drawn to seafood chowder. Here in New England, chowder is king and a variety of “chowda’s” as they say, namely clam, cod, and lobster, can be found in every restaurant and diner. Simply put, chowder is the ultimate east coast comfort food. One of the best chowders I ever had was at a Vermont ski chalet where it was served in a bread bowl. To me, nothing says comfort and warmth like sitting in front of a roaring fire with a piping bowl of rich, creamy chowder filled with succulent seafood. With all the seafood available in Newfoundland, such as cod, salmon, shrimp and scallops, chowder would make the perfect winter meal. Whether you choose to make this recipe as a first course for you New Year’s Eve dinner party, or back home after a day out snowmobiling or ice fishing, this chowder promises to satisfy. When you’re done I hope you can say it was a wicked scoff!
  

Wicked Good Seafood Chowder

Ingredients:

·         2 pounds cod

·         1 pound each of salmon and shrimp (medium)

·         ½ pound of scallops

·         2 cups each of onion, celery, and carrots, diced

·         5 medium potatoes, diced

·         2 - 32 oz cartons seafood stock (or use homemade)

·         2 ½ sticks butter

·         1 ½ cups flour

·         2 cups heavy cream

·         6 cups whole milk

·         1 Tbsp Savory

·         salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large stockpot, melt ½ a stick of butter over medium heat, and
sauté the onion, celery and carrots for 5 minutes. Season with a little salt and black pepper. Add remaining butter and the flour and using a wooden spoon, stir the butter and flour together to make a paste (a roux), which will thicken the chowder. Cook the roux for a minute and increase the heat to medium high. Gradually add the two cartons of seafood stock, stirring as you go. Make sure to stir out any lumps that may have formed in the roux. Add the potatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the heavy cream and the milk, and return the chowder to a low simmer. It is now important not to boil the chowder, as the dairy may curdle. For Newfoundland twist, add dried savory. As a trick to prevent heartburn, which some complain of from savory, rub the herbs in the palm of your hand to break it into smaller pieces. Cut the cod and salmon into 1-inch chunks, quarter the scallops and de-vein and remove the shells from the shrimp. Once the chowder begins to thicken, add the seafood to the pot and stir occasionally. Cook for approximately 10 more minutes on a gentle simmer until the chowder has thickened, the potatoes are tender, and the seafood is cooked. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust seasoning accordingly. Ladle into bowls or homemade bread boules, and top with crackers. A few scrucnhins on top wouldn’t go astray either! This will make a big pot of chowder, and will feed a crowd. I find is even tastier the next day and you will want leftovers. Enjoy!

Cod Chowder

Chowder, or "chowda!" as you will hear it called in much of New England, is the ultimate east coast comfort food. While the classic New England chowder may be clam chowder, seafood chowders made with a single white fish such as cod or haddock, or paired with salmon, shrimp and/or scallops are also very popular. In Newfoundland clam chowder is not traditional. A great seafood chowder you may find in a restaurant in St. John's might feature cod, salmon and Newfoundland cold water shrimp.

This blog features a chowder I made the other night after work. It did not take a long time to pull together and the taste was just right. Some other chowders I make are more of a process as I often like to make a fish stock with fresh codfish heads. Since this was the middle of the week, I added a can of clams with their juice to bulk up the fish flavor. The chowder is cod based and I used about 2 lbs of fillets, with additions of onion, celery, potatoes and Newfoundland summer savory. For the dairy, I used a combination of heavy cream, butter and canned milk (evaporated 2%). To give the chowder some extra body and thickness, I added some slurry made with milk and flour.

Cod Chowder

In a large heavy bottomed pot, saute over a medium heat

4 ounces of either salt pork or bacon, diced. Render out the fat and reserve the pork fat/bacon for later, some will go in the chowder and some will act as a garnish. I used a salted pork belly.

In the rendered fat, saute until tender, but not browned.

1 large onion, chopped fine
4 ribs celery, sliced fine
1,2 tsp freshly ground pepper

While onions and celery are cooking, peel 4 medium potatoes.

Take 2 of the spuds and half them, and slice as thin as possible. Add to the onions and celery. These potatoes will break down and add flavor and thickness to the chowder.

Cut the other 2 potatoes into small cubes, and add once the onions and celery are soft.

Add 6 cups of hot water, and bring up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.

Cut the cod into 5 or 6 pieces and poach the fish in the pot for 4-5 minutes. Carefully remove the cod and reserve for later. Now add one small can of clams with juice, and tsp of dried summer savory.

Add 3 Tbsp butter, 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of 2% evaporated milk. Bring the chowder to a simmer.

To thicken the mix, combine 4-5 Tbsp of all purpose flour with enough evaporated milk to make a slurry. Be sure to mix it well with a fork to remove any lumps. If you add the liquid slowly to the flour while you stir vigorously, lumps should not be a problem.

Cook over a simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until the chowder has thickened nicely and the potatoes have softened. Return half the pork scrunchins/bacon and the cod to the pot and mix gently to break up the fish pieces. Taste for seasoning. I add extra black pepper, sea salt, Old Bay seasoning and Lawry's seasoned salt.

Once fish as heated through, just a couple of minutes, serve in bowls with crackers and a few pieces of the fried pork scrunchins/bacon bits

Enjoy