Elizabeth’s Seafood Chowder

Elizabeth’s Seafood Chowder

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

5  – strips bacon cut into ½-inch pieces (see note, below)

2  – medium baking potatoes, peeled and cubed

1  – yellow onion chopped

3  – cloves garlic chopped

2  – 8 ounce cans of minced clams, drained (reserve juice)

1  – 8 ounce can of crab, drained (reserve juice)

1  – 3 ounce can of smoked oysters, drained (reserve oil separately)

1  – 15 ounce can of red Alaskan salmon, drained, skin and bones removed, broken into small lumps (reserve juice)

2  – Tbs butter

3  – Tbs flour

½ – cup whole milk (approximate amount)

1  – cup half and half (approximated amount)

1  – Tbs chopped fresh rosemary

1  – Tbs chopped fresh thyme

½ – tsp salt

½ – tsp pepper

½ – tsp paprika

Fry bacon in large frying pan.  When it is crisp add potato cubes and cook covered, stirring occasionally.  Add onion and garlic to pan when potatoes are a little browned and almost done (still somewhat stiff to fork).  Mix and cover, cook over medium heat until onions are softened (8 to 10 minutes).  Add oysters and salmon and heat through.  Put oyster oil and 2 Tbs. butter, over low heat, in a heavy stockpot.  Add 3 Tbs. flour and mix with whisk over low heat for a minute.  Stir in milk until the bottom of pot is covered and mix while it thickens.  Add the seafood/potato mix and half and half just until things float.  Stir and add the clam, crab, and salmon juices to the pot.  (You can add additional milk/half and half to achieve desired thickness.)  Cover and put on a low simmer for 45 minutes.  About 20 minutes in add the herbs, salt, pepper, and paprika.  After 45 minutes, taste for seasoning, then add the clams and crab and keep at a bare simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve with lots of good bread.

Note:  for those who want to leave the bacon out, you can brown some butter and use it to cook the potatoes and onions.  Browned butter has great flavor.  Melt 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  (Don’t use a non-stick saucepan, or you won’t be able to see the color change).  Once the butter is melted, raise the heat a little and continue to cook.  The butter will boil (because of the water in it) and then you’ll see the foam and solids on the top color and sink to the bottom.  Swirl the pan and check carefully – when the liquid on top gets a little brown, immediately pour the liquid into a heatproof glass measuring cup, leaving the solids behind.  Pour the lightly browned butter into the large frying pan, and immediately add the potatoes as directed in the recipe.   If you’re not using bacon, you might want to add a small can (3.75 ounces) of smoked Alaskan salmon to the chowder, and use smoked paprika too.