Bowl of Seafood Chowder
(click to enlarge)

Seafood Chowder


Cali-England    
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 12 cups
***
1-1/2 hr
Most		 An English Seafood Chowder from the BBC, adjusted for California (see Comments). See also Scheduling.




1
12
11
-------
5
8
1
1
-------
1/8
1/8
2
2/3
-------
3-1/2
14
5
2
-------
ar
-------
ar
#
oz
oz
---
oz
oz
T
T
---
t
t
t
t
---
c
oz
T
T
---

---

Fish Fillet (1)
Shellfish (2)
Potatoes (3)
-- Fry Mix
Bacon (4)
Onion
Olive Oil
Flour, all-purp  
-- Seasonings
Mace
Cayenne
Sea Salt
Pepper blk
-----------
Fish Stock (5)
Milk
Cream, heavy
Lemon Juice
-- Garnish
Parsley
-- Serve With
Crusty Bread
  or Rice
Do Ahead   -   (1-1/2 hr - 1 hr work)
  1. Make FISH STOCK from the head, fins and bones - or - see Fish Stock for alternatives.
  2. IF including Shrimp, shell and de-vein them. Freeze if not used the same day.
Prep #1   -   (40 min)
  1. Peel POTATOES, slice about 1/4 inch thick and cut slices into pieces about 1/2 inch. Hold in cold water until needed.
  2. Chop ONION small. Chop BACON about 1/3 inch. Mix.
  3. Crush MACE and combine all Seasoning items.
Prep #2   -  (10 min - see Scheduling)
  1. Cut FISH FILETS into smallish bite size pieces.
  2. Prep SHELLFISH as needed. Keep separate from Fish.
Run   -   (30 min)
  1. In a 3 quart pot, heat Olive Oil. Stir in Onion mix and fry stirring until translucent and Bacon is cooked.
  2. Stir in Flour and cook stirring for about 2 minutes - no browning.
  3. Stir Fish Stock, a little at a time until the mix is smooth, then stir in the rest.
  4. Drain Potatoes and stir in. Bring back to a boil and simmer until Potatoes are just cooked through.
  5. Stir in Milk and Mace mix and bring back to a boil.
  6. IF doing ahead, stop here (see Scheduling).
  7. Near Serving time, bring back to a boil over high heat.
  8. Stir in Fish. Bring back to a boil and simmer until it flakes, usually 3 minutes or less.
  9. Stir in Shellfish. Bring back to a boil over high heat. When it's starts to bubble it's done - Stir in Cream and take off the heat.
  10. Serve hot with Bread on the side - or - you can place a bowl of Steamed Rice on the table to be spooned in as desired.
  11. IF serving on the Buffet, pour into a slow cooker set to "keep warm". If any must be reheated, bring up to only 170°F/77°C.
NOTES:

  1. Fish Fillets:

      Weight is for fillets ready to cut and add to the soup. The pattern recipe calls for supermarket "Pie Mix", which includes Salmon, Haddock, and Smoked Haddock. We don't have "pie mix" here in Southern California, and we don't have Haddock or Smoked Haddock, but we do have Salmon, so I use that. For smoked fish see Smoked. For the other fish my favorites are Golden Pompano and Amberjack. Both these fish can be used skin-on and make good Fish Stock. Other good fish for chowder are Cobia, Cod, Tilapia, Pacific Barracuda, Bluefish, Emperor, Ling Cod, Parrotfish, Rabbitfish, Snakehead / Mudfish, Red Snapper (not all other snappers) - for details see our Varieties of Fish page (very large page).

  2. Shellfish:

      You can use a frozen package of "Mixed Seafood" as called for in the pattern recipe, but I usually have a selection of shellfish on hand and make my own mix, usually heavy on Shrimp.

  3. Potatoes:

      The pattern calls for New Potatoes, halved. These very young, tender, paper thin skinned potatoes are not much available in North America. I use Red Potatoes, peeled and cut to 1/2 inch pieces. White Rose type would also be fine, but avoid Yukon Gold type, as they turn to mush if cooked a little more than the minimum.

  4. Bacon:

      This is specified as "Streaky Bacon", which is our American Bacon. Just "Bacon" in England means something like what we call "Canadian Bacon".

  5. Fish Stock:

      The pattern recipe called for the stock to be made with fish stock cubes (1-1/2 for this amount). I always buy my fish whole. The heads, fins, bones, and sometimes skins can be used to make excellent fish stock. I dismantle the fish at least a day ahead, freeze the Fillets, and make the Stock. For details see our recipe Making Fish Stock. IF fish scraps are not available, see our Emergency Fish Broth / Stock page - or, you can go Southeast Asian and use Chicken Stock.

  6. Smoked:

      The Smoked Haddock in English "Pie Mix" is not much available outside the British Isles. Whole smoked Whitefish, Trout, Herring, and Mackerel are available, but you only need a small amount. I don't consider the smoked fish that important, but I have smoked fish in my little stovetop smoker. You could just take a small amount of the cut fish and tumble it with a few drops of Liquid Smoke.

  7. Scheduling:

      Even a few days ahead you can do the Do Ahead steps and freeze. A day or two ahead you can do all Prep #1 steps and do the Run steps through 12. Refrigerate. On serving day you do the Prep #2 steps which will take only a few minutes (after thawing), then continue with steps 13 on. For buffet, place the finished stew in a slow cooker set to "keep warm". If you do have to reheat the finished stew, take it up just about 170°F/77°C.

  8. Comments:

    The pattern recipe from the BBC is all assembled from factory prepared packaged supermarket products. We just don't do that in California. I have restructured it to use ingredients in the forms they are available here, and have added Lemon Juice, thus Cali-England.
  9. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove, in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
bof_seacho1 251224 BBC ajg   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.