Best Seafood Chowder Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What two ingredients must be present for the soup to be called a chowder? ›

Chowder is a soup with cream or milk mixed with ingredients such as potatoes, sweet corn, smoked haddock, clams and prawns, etc. Some cream-style chowders do not use cream, and are instead prepared using milk and a roux to thicken them.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

Flour: Thicken the chowder up with all-purpose flour. Seasonings: Season the fish chowder with Old Bay seasoning, salt, and pepper. Evaporated milk: Evaporated milk makes the chowder even thicker and richer.

Can fish chowder be made in advance? Yes! This recipe can be made 2 days in advance and kept in the fridge, then reheated over medium-low heat until warm.

Customarily, chowder included onion, potatoes, and cream.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

While soups can be thin and light, a chowder is characterized by being rich and thick. Like stew, it contains large chunks of meat or seafood and vegetables, notably potatoes.

Depending on the required thickness and the amount of liquid you're dealing with, you'll need to add different amounts of flour to your soup or chowder mix. You can start with 2 tablespoons of flour for every 1 cup of liquid as a general rule of thumb.

One of the biggest troubles with chowders is that if you add dairy, from heavy cream to skim milk, it can “break” after you add it to the pot. Dojny says that curdling can happen more often with low-fat or skim milk because there isn't enough fat in the liquid to bind to the potatoes and/or flour.

What is a substitute for heavy cream in seafood chowder? ›

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.

You can go for oyster crackers, warm sourdough bread, salad, french fries… the list goes on. This tasty soup is packed with clam lumps and tender potatoes. It is not only filling and indulgent – but quite easy to make.

In the Maritimes, chowder is finished with evaporated milk, not heavy cream. Fish chowder tastes best a day or two after making. Keep refrigerated and reheat to serve.

Chowder has evolved constantly over the years, with its roots dating back to the 1700s in the Northeast. Today, the 3 most popular variations are Rhode Island or “clear” chowder, Manhattan or “red” chowder, and New England or “white” chowder.

Keep your chowder in a plastic or glass container with an airtight lid in the fridge for up to three days. To reheat, ladle portions into bowls or into a small pot and gently heat on half power in the microwave, or over medium-low heat in a pot on the stovetop until steamy. I don't recommend freezing chowder.

A chowder is a thick, creamy soup featuring diced or chopped ingredients, left chunky for a hearty final result. Traditional chowder recipes feature seafood ingredients—for instance, clams or fish—while others forgo seafood in favor of vegetables or starches, like corn.

Soups are similar to stews, and in some cases there may not be a clear distinction between the two; however, soups generally have more liquid (broth) than stews. In traditional French cuisine, soups are classified into two main groups: clear soups and thick soups.

Add flour or cornflour

You can also use flour or cornflour to thicken a soup. Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer.

The two basic categories of soup are clear soups and thick soups, with broths and consommés being clear, and bisques and chowders as examples of thick soups.