Chowder is such a comforting food. Traditionally a dish for the working class and fishing people, New England style “chowdah”, may have originated in Newfoundland. In those days, Breton fisherman would throw a portion of the day’s catch into a large pot. The fish would be cooked with salt pork or bacon and thickened with crackers or crushed sea biscuits.
The origin of the term chowder is obscure. Some historians believe the French work “chaudron”, the term for a cauldron type of cooking or heating stove was the source. “Chodier” is also the name for a cooking pot in the Creole language of the French Caribbean islands.
Food historians do agree that chowders were brought to North America more than 250 years ago as a shipboard dish thickened with hardtack, a dense cracker made from flour, water and salt. Hardtack is inexpensive to prepare and has a long shelf life if kept dry. Salt pork, corned beef and hardtack were standard rations of military campaigns, long sea voyages, and migrating populations from the 17th to the early 20th century.
In New England, a bowl of simmering chowder by the seaside provided “sustenance of body and mind – a marker of hearth and home, community, family and culture.” Chowder was never a sophisticated dish of the elite, but rather a staple of fishing and farming families.
Recipes for chowder have evolved over the years to include canned condensed milk, cream of celery soup, or other industrial food products. Although these products are marketed as time-saving techniques, the classic, old-fashioned chowder is easy to prepare without the aid of such processed ingredients, and much healthier!
The most important tool in your kitchen would be a heavy soup pot, to allow the chowder to cook slowly and not scorch. Start by sautéing the onions in butter (or salt pork or bacon if you are not feeding vegetarians). Add cubed potatoes and fish stock or clam juice to cover, and simmer until just fork tender. If making fish stock is not your typical type of cooking activity, consider stocking your pantry or freezer with jars of clam juice. You will notice a delicious difference in the flavor of the stew.
To complete the chowder, add the dairy and the fish in large pieces. Slowly bring to a simmer, then cool and let sit (in the refrigerator) for at least 24 hours. When you reheat the chowder, the slow stirring breaks the fish into bite-sized pieces. Ladle into heated soup plates and enjoy with plenty of crackers.
Classic Fish Chowder is pure comfort food, particularly during the winter and snowy months. This recipe makes a large batch, and a jar of fish chowder to your neighbor that shovels your walk, plows your driveway, feeds the cat or waters the plants is always a welcome treat. Sharing food builds community and building community makes for resiliency in these difficult times. That’s the power of chowder.
Classic Fish Chowder
Ingredients
- ¼ pound butter
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 3 cups cubed potatoes about 1 pound
- 1 cup clam juice or fish stock or water
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 bay leaf removed after cooking
- 2 pounds Maine haddock or other white fish
- 4 cups whole milk *
- 2 cups cream*
- 1- teaspoon Maine sea salt
- 1- teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients and tools. Chop the onions and parsley and set aside. Peel (if desired) and cube the potatoes and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, stirring, and cook until soft.
- Add the clam juice or fish stock, bay leaf, celery seed and potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are just fork tender.
- Add the haddock and the dairy. Slowly bring the chowder to a simmer and cook until the fish starts to break up. Remove the bay leaf and season the soup with Maine sea salt, fresh pepper, parsley and garlic salt.
- Allow the chowder to cool before transferring to the refrigerator.
- For the best flavor, let the chowder sit for 24 – 48 hours before serving. To serve, reheat slowly in a heavy soup pot over low heat. Serve in heated soup bowls with chowder crackers on the side.