Chowder??

Chowder is an interesting thing. It's a soup, but it's not a soup. It's a stew, but it's not really a stew...

It's CHOWDER!!

Now, for me, chowder always involves milk...and fish, and taters. That's just my definition of "chowder" I suppose there are other kinds, but that's what I view "chowder" as. Sure, you can put some paprika in it, and butter is good, but bottom line; chowder is milk and seafood.

Chowder can be easy to make...or it can be extremely difficult to make. It depends on the seafood you use.

Chowder is one of my most favorite dishes. I'm a sucker for fish, and fish chowder is awesome. However, I'm in a place where fish is hard to get (except frozen Cod, which is good). In any case, I have family on the east coast, so they can get me CLAMS!!

Clam chowder is hard to beat! I love the stuff. Add some (blue...lump) crab in, and it's even better!

Tonight I made up some clam chowder. It's cold outside, and this stuff goes down like golden bricks. Lots of clams (right out of the box from back east), some taters and some lovin'.

Oh man...this is good stuff!!

Chowder RULES!!

I was thinking of making some Kala Mojakka tomorrow. I don't put the milk in though, I usually eat quite a bit of it and I am pretty intolerant to milk. I use potatoes, carrots, moderate onions, and a little cabbage for flavor along with a clove or two of garlic.. Adding a tad bit of lemon, some butter, and about six drops of tabasco sauce to the mix. Then for the fish, I use any kind of white fish, usually cod or pollock or whitefish. It is good with perch or bass too, and some fresh caught rainbow goes good in it, as long as the fish is not too oily.

I love chowders, but can only eat a bowl of it when it has milk, It is hard to make so little of it.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I once had a clam chowder where they did not add milk (cream). The chef was in an auto accident and the owner was trying to carry on for the night using what was prepared.
It surprisingly did not change the flavor or texture much.

a reply to: rickymouse

Sounds GREAT!! I'm not sure exactly what defines "chowder" but I think potatoes have something to do with it.

On a lark one time I went out on this crab fishing boat in Maryland, out in the Chesapeake. It was an overnight deal (this was a working boat). We were on this Maryland "deadrise" boat, and this captain served a 'chowder' which was Maryland Blue Crabs, taters, rice and some kind of tomato sauce (there might have even been some bacon in it too). It was off the rails good!! We were getting slammed around in the water, but the chowder was unimaginably good!!

We didn't get a lot of crabs that night (and day), but the food on the boat was totally worth it!!!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I lived in Southern New Hampshire for around 5 years...I developed a weakness fot little neck clams, New England Style chowder.

Gotta have a nice vinegar based hot sauce like tabasco to bring it home.

a reply to: BlueJacket

Haven't tried that (vinegar in the soup), but I just LOVE chowder!!!

Just warms your heart and soul!!

(even keeps you warm when wet and cold)

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Totally agree, growing up we always had cruet of vinegar on the table...particularly for cooked spinach and navy been soup, which is chowder like if you add things to it.

My In-Law's next door neighbor is a crabber. They live right on the Chesapeake. He's the guy we went out with that night.

A couple days later my BIL and I went out on this little 16' aluminum skiff the neighbor had. We piled about 40 traps on that boat and went out. Practically sank the damn boat out in the Middle River, but we survived.

We'd gotten a whole bag of chicken necks from the local chicken processor (great crab bait...especially if left out in the sun to get really stinky). We dropped these traps all around the other commercial traps...and freaking cleaned up. We were getting 2-3 crabs per pot after an hour soak or so. Practically sank the boat again going back across Middle River, but we had a whole cooler full of fresh Blues! Steamed 'em up that night and ate like kings!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

mmmm now I want clams and a beer

a reply to: BlueJacket

My Gram, bless her soul, grew up and lived in Bearskin Neck, MA (aka...lobster and clam CENTRAL).

I've had some of the best seafood there is...in the world.

Clams..oh yeah!! She'd get these clams (I don't know the specific name), but they came from this shack kind of place. We'd eat fried clams right off the beach until our eyeballs popped out, then lobsters for dinner....then NE clam "chowder" the next day...a giant vat of the stuff. I couldn't move for days afterwards, I was such a glutton!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Ok, now that you've made me hungry, what's your clam chowder recipe?!

A cold, wet (maybe foggy) night.

A steaming bowl of clam chowder.

A chunk (not just a slice, but a good sized chunk!) of fresh, warm sourdough bread (butter optional).

A glass of White Burgundy.

By a crackling wood fire in the fireplace.

Autumn dreams!

a reply to: new_here

Gosh, it's complicated, but a good start is clams, clam liquor, water, salt, pepper and butter. Cook the clams, add milk and potatoes which have been cooking in a seperate pot. Then just slam the whole thing with butter.

Right before it boils...serve it. By the gallon!!

Some put some wine in it, but I just pour the wine down my gullet and then devour the chowder!

a reply to: Bhadhidar

OH MAN...you're killin' me here!!

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: BlueJacket

My Gram, bless her soul, grew up and lived in Bearskin Neck, MA (aka...lobster and clam CENTRAL).

I've had some of the best seafood there is...in the world.

Clams..oh yeah!! She'd get these clams (I don't know the specific name), but they came from this shack kind of place. We'd eat fried clams right off the beach until our eyeballs popped out, then lobsters for dinner....then NE clam "chowder" the next day...a giant vat of the stuff. I couldn't move for days afterwards, I was such a glutton!!

YES! I miss Bearskin Neck! Love their restaurants overlooking the ocean! I usually have the red New England clam chowder, but I like the white one too. Now I want to go to Bearskin Neck and I can't afford it.

a reply to: rickymouse

Hmm, if you want a thick, creamy comfort soup/stew, you might try an Asian congee. They use Jasmine rice to thicken them instead of milk. The starches in the rice do the job of thickener.

We made a simple Philippino chicken and rice version last week - just thighs, rice, stock, and seasonings like garlic, ginger, lime and some fish sauce, and it was divine.

I know they make fish versions though which would be like a chowder.

a reply to: Night Star

The red chowder is Manhatten style I believe.

a reply to: Night Star

It's funny, when my grandmother lived there it was still pretty much just a fishing town. It was taking off as a touristy place, but it still had the working character to it. When we would visit she would send me down to the docks to pick up what they called "culls" when the lobster boats came in. Culls were lobsters which had a missing claw or some other defect which made them less marketable. Armed with $2-3 I would come home with a half a dozen live lobsters or more and still have change in my pocket for a box of fried fresh clams (which I loved) . She'd take the lobsters and make this awesome lobster chowder, and lobster roll sammiches!

I could eat lobster until I exploded...even now. That, and king crab.

a reply to: ketsuko

When I was living over in SE Asia they used to make this dish they called simply 'chicken & rice'. It wasn't a stew, and it wasn't a non-stew, but rather a kind of combination of both. And they did the same thing with the jasmine rice starch. It was chicken and this rice starch stuff ladled over a bowl of rice. When they served it they'd squeeze a fresh lemon over the top. It's kind of hard to describe, and there's nothing even remotely like it here in the USA.

Oh man, was that stuff GOOD!! I've never seen it anywhere else. They said it was an ancient Chinese dish from mainland China, but even when I'd go up to China I never saw it.