Seein’ as how my kinfolk hailed from the Florida and the Mississippi Gulf region, seafood always played an important part in our weekly suppers. We’d go fishin’, crabbin’ and scallopin’ in the summer months, and have a freezer full of fresh seafood to get us through the chilly winters. This here Seafood Chowder was one of my Momma’s favorite seafood Sunday suppers! It’ll warm your sweet little heart! Enjoy!
Seafood Chowder
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Southern
PREP TIME
25 mins
COOK TIME
30 mins
TOTAL TIME
55 mins
INGREDIENTS
½ pound bacon (sliced and cut in half)
1 large white onion (diced)
4 stalks celery (diced)
1 cup water
1 quart seafood or fish stock
½ teaspoon liquid crab boil ( I like Zatarain’s)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups potatoes (cubed ½ inch)
1 pound fresh raw shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1 pound fresh fresh raw scallops (halved)
1 pound fresh raw lobster meat (cut into 2-inch chunks)
1 pound fresh raw haddock or cod (cut into 2-inch chunks/ skin and bones removed)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk
Chopped green onion tips (thinly sliced for garnish) /or chopped fresh parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Git yourself a large Dutch oven.
Fry up the bacon in the Dutch oven over a medium heat.
Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Eat the bacon because it tawstes dee-lish-us. Some people crumble it later onto the soup before serving, but I’d rather eat it and not mess up the beautiful seafood chunks in the soup with a bunch of bacon.
Now, sauté the onions and celery in them bacon drippings in that Dutch oven.
Once the onions are translucent, add the water and seafood stock, crab boil, bay leaves, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.
Once the stock comes to a boil on your medium heat, add the potatoes.
Stir around for about 10 minutes until the cubed potatoes are becoming tender.
Then, add the shrimp, scallops, lobster and cod. Let this cook for about 7 minutes over your medium heat until the shrimp turn pink and the cod flakes with a fork.
In another saucepan on your stove-top, heat the heavy cream, the milk and butter over a medium heat .
Once it’s heated and the butter is melted, give it a stir and then add the milk mixture into the already hot seafood stock you’ve cooked in your Dutch oven.
Stir until blended with the stock and once it’s thoroughly heated, pour into bowls (making sure each bowl gets some scallop, shrimp, lobster and cod pieces) and garnish with thinly sliced green onion tips or freshly chopped parsley.
Now, wasn’t that easy! Serve this creamy, hot Seafood Chowder up with some hot-buttered angel flake biscuits or some fresh baguette, a little salad and you’ve got yourself an incredible supper for all your hungry guests! YUM!