Best Seafood Chowder Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is good to serve with seafood chowder? ›

It's a traditional American dish that typically consists of clams, diced potatoes, onions, and celery. The soup base is often a combination of clam juice, broth or stock, and milk or cream. The ingredients are simmered together until the flavors meld, creating a hearty and flavorful chowder.

New England clam chowder is perhaps the most popular and well-known iteration of the dish. It's a classic combination of clams, onions, corn, celery, bacon or salt pork, and potatoes.

For the creamiest chowder, you'll want to use heavy cream. If you don't have or don't want to use heavy cream, you could use a light cream, but you'll want to mix in about 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with the lighter cream before adding to the soup, to help thicken the soup.

We serve oyster crackers with a cup or bowl of clam chowder and most everyone smiles and puts the crackers on their chowder right away. There is a reason why chowder bread bowls are so popular – the soup goes so well with sourdough bread!

Sourdough bread is a popular option but you can use any bread that you prefer. If you're eating clam chowder from an actual bowl, I suggest serving it with these buttery Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Customarily, chowder included onion, potatoes, and cream. Nowadays, not all chowders adhere to these guidelines.

Unlike cream, which runs the risk of splitting once added, evaporated milk can be mixed into the chowder's entourage when the clams are added. Thus, a steamy bowl of clam chowder is created, whose flavor whole-heartedly sings with a warming fishy essence. It's rich, it's divine, it's utterly moreish.

Stir in miso

Sometimes it is because the potatoes have soaked up the salt or the base is just too thick, and the chowder is weak in flavor and has a heavy texture. If you find your clam chowder leaning into no-flavor-land, try adding a bit of miso paste to the pot for a rich umami kick.

Roux (pronounced roo) is a mixture of equal weights (parts) of flour and fat (usually clarified butter; chicken fat, bacon fat, and margarine are also used) cooked over medium heat and stirred constantly. Roux is the most common thickener for sauces and soups.

Why is New England clam chowder so good? ›

Summer Shack Chef, Jasper White, also shares his secret of smashing the potatoes for extra thickness in the chowder, and salt pork for some smokiness that'll contrast the creaminess. The thickness of New England clam chowder is what makes it so delectable.

New England clam chowder is thick, creamy, and milky-white. Manhattan clam chowder is tomatoey, brothy, and clear. Both types share a clean, briny, and slightly-sweet flavor thanks to the clams—but that's about it.

Half-and-half and butter plus butter

You can also use half-and-half to replace heavy cream without adding butter in certain recipes, such as sauces and soups. To substitute for 1 cup (237 mL) of heavy cream, mix 7/8 cup (232 grams) of half-and-half with 1/8 cup (29 grams) of melted butter.

This can be done by cooking the fish in foil or by adding other ingredients to the recipe that will help to mask the strong fishy taste of the fish. Also, you can marinate the fish in a mixture of lemon juice, vinegar, and water for 30 minutes. This will help to neutralize the fishy taste.

DO AHEAD: Make chowder base and refrigerate up to 1 day ahead. To serve, reheat base and add potatoes, clams, and fish as outlined above.

A Seafood Chowder That's Ready When You Are

Its creamy, briny flavors make it hearty enough to have as a main course, and the combination of fresh clams and mild, flaky fish will satisfy your crew of seafood lovers.

Sister Mary's Fish Chowder, cornbread, and a green salad are a wonderful combination – perfect for a hearty supper.