George Bates
R E C I P E S
Down East Fish Chowder
Fish chowder tastes best if you start with a whole haddock, weighing about four pounds, so you can make a fish broth or court bouillon to deepen the flavor. It’s easy. Ask the fishmonger to filet it for you and to skin the filets. Then put the head, bones, and skin (which has a lot of gelatin to give richness to the broth) in a pot — no gills, no fins, no entrails — and cover with cool water. Add a little salt, half a dozen peppercorns, and a few bay leaves, and bring the pot very slowly to a simmer over a low flame. Spoon off the scum that rises to the top. Let the broth simmer quietly for 30 minutes or so, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve or a cheesecloth-lined colander. (Freeze any excess broth for future soups or chowders.) If you can’t make fish broth, the chowder will still be delicious. And if you can’t get haddock, substitute another white fish, such as cod, hake, snapper, or even halibut.
A proper chowder needs several hours after cooking for its flavors to meld. It should be kept hot but always below boiling, which is not easy to do without a traditional cookstove. I cope by leaving the chowder on the gas range and occasionally, throughout the day, heating it just to a simmer and then turning the heat off. You can also let the chowder cool thoroughly, refrigerate it overnight, and then bring it back to a simmer before serving the next day — a lesser transformation, but better than eating the chowder instantly. In any case, the operative instructions are: low heat at all times and never let the chowder boil once the milk has been added.
2 ounces (60 gr) lean salt pork or slab bacon, diced
1 tablespoon lard or unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped fine
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
fish broth or water
2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml) cream or ½ cup (125 ml) half-and-half
2 pounds (about 1 kilo) fresh haddock fillets, cut in chunks
bay leaves, Spanish paprika, Vermont common crackers, optional
more unsalted butter, to taste
Put the diced salt pork or bacon and the tablespoon of lard or butter in a heavy-duty soup kettle and set over medium-low heat. Cook the pork until it is crisp and brown and has released most of its fat, then remove it with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
Lower the heat and gently cook the chopped onions in the fat in the pan, stirring occasionally, until they are meltingly soft, about 15 minutes — do not let them brown. When the onions are very soft, add the diced potato along with salt and pepper. Add fish broth or water to cover. Put on the lid, raise the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes.
Separately, heat the milk and cream (or half-and-half) together until very hot — just below simmering. Do not let them boil.
When the potatoes are tender, set the chunks of fish on top of them and continue simmering, covered, just until the fish changes texture and color, going from translucent to opaque, 5 to 10 minutes.
Now add the hot milk and cream to the pan and give it a gentle stir with a wooden spoon, so you don’t break up the fish too much, although some of it will start to fall apart. Add bay leaves and/or paprika to taste, if you wish, keeping in mind that a good Spanish paprika has a lot of flavor. When the milk begins to break into a simmer, turn off the heat and leave the chowder, covered and nearly simmering, for at least an hour and preferably all day.
When ready to serve, heat the chowder again and taste for seasoning. Stir the reserved salt pork into the chowder, put a dollop of butter in each bowl, and, if you wish, serve Vermont common crackers (from the Vermont Country Store) to crumble into the soup. Serves 4 as a one-dish meal or 6 to 8 as a first course.
Read Nancy Harmon Jenkins’s article “Maine Fish Chowder.”
From issue 69
