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Make it red. Make it white. Make it clear. Make it with veal if you want.
Just don’t call it soup.
It’s chowder, a meal in a bowl, a heap of seafood or meat or veggies that just happens to have broth ladled around it.
“Chowder is not a soup, it’s a dish,” Jasper White, author of “50 Chowders,” said during a recent phone interview. “For 250 years it was cooked as a main-course dinner. It became a soup when it got in the hands of restaurants.”
Over time, the pasty, white clam concoction ubiquitous to New England restaurants became synonymous with chowder. In “50 Chowders,” White does his best to change that perception.
“It had become maligned,” White said. “A variation – the thick, creamy, white clam chowder – became what chowder is.”
White grew up on the Jersey shore, where the chowder was served red. He knew about white chowder, and he had eaten corn chowder a few times, but none of it left much of an impression on him.
When he moved to Boston in 1979 to work as a sous chef at the Copley Plaza Hotel, his view changed. There, the chef made a potent fish chowder with “chunks of haddock the size of your fist.” It was popular as a meal, especially at lunch.
“I started to realize the importance of this dish,” he said.
When White opened his own seafood restaurants in Boston, first the upscale Jasper’s, which closed in 1995, and recently Jasper White’s Summer Shack, he found that chowder kept popping up on his menus – in all its incarnations.
“I don’t take the approach of so many old New Englanders [that] there’s only one chowder,” White said. “I consider it kind of a genre.”
He’s been researching chowder for years, first for magazine articles and later for “50 Chowders.” What he found was a rich, eclectic history of chowder-making that dates back to the early 1700s. The origins of the word “chowder” are fairly easy to trace – it could come from “chaudiere,” the French word for cauldron, or “jowter,” English dialect for fishmonger. But the rest of the history will surprise many New Englanders, especially those who swear that creamy chowder is the only chowder.
“Dairy products weren’t readily available, especially for people at sea [where chowder likely originated],” White said.
The earliest chowder was a mixture of crackers, salt pork, fish and onion. It evolved into vastly different variations depending on where it was cooked. In Bermuda, chowder is brown. In Rhode Island, it’s clear. Away from the coast, people prepared “farmhouse chowders” that had nothing to do with fish. White gives recipes for chowders made with pheasant or veal that date back to the 1870s.
In “50 Chowders,” White includes all these variations, and adds a few of his own twists, including a tomato-based San Francisco Crab “Meatball” Chowder with “meatballs” that are more like little crab cakes.
“I’ve heard … in a really negative way, that I’m stretching what chowder is,” White said. “I didn’t stretch, I just kind of put my own touch to it.”
The recipes in “50 Chowders” are loose enough that there’s room for home cooks to add their own touches, yet precise enough that even inexperienced cooks will know what to do. Though the recipes take a while to prepare, they’re fairly easy, because nothing needs to be perfect.
“[Chowder is] not a hard dish to prepare at all,” White said. “If you follow directions, it’ll come out right every time.”
White suggests starting with his New England Fish Chowder, which will introduce cooks to what he calls “the Zen of chowder.”
“If people make this a few times, they feel the rhythm of making chowder – they start to understand what chowder is,” he said. “That might in a sense be the most important recipe in the book.”
The recipe for New England Fish Chowder follows. Once you’ve mastered the Zen of chowder, you can try San Francisco Crab Meatball Chowder, which requires a little more work.
Traditional Fish Stock
This recipe serves as a base for seafood chowders, and works equally well when used to make fish veloute and delicate French sauces such as Bercy or bonne femme.
4 pounds fish frames (bones) from sole, flounder, halibut and-or turbot, cut into 2-inch pieces and rinsed clean of any blood
1/2 cup dry white wine
about 2 quarts water
2 medium onions, very thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, very thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, very thinly sliced
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves and stems
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
Kosher or sea salt
In a 7- to 8-quart stockpot, combine the fish bones, white wine and just enough water to cover (you won’t need the full 2 quarts of water here). Bring to a boil, skimming off the white foam from the top of the stock as it approaches boiling, then reduce the heat so the stock simmers. (Using a ladle and a circular motion, push the foam from the center to the outside of the pot, where it is easy to remove.)
Add the onions, celery, carrots, bay leaves, parsley, thyme and peppercorns and stir them into the liquid. If the ingredients are not covered by liquid, add a little more water. Allow the stock to simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Remove the stock from the stove, stir it again, and allow it to steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and season lightly with salt. If you are not going to be using the stock within the hour, chill it as quickly as possible. Cover the stock after it has completely cooled and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Makes about 2 quarts.
New England Fish Chowder
4 ounces meaty salt pork, rind removed and cut into 1/3-inch dice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions (14 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch dice
6 to 8 sprigs fresh summer savory or thyme, leaves removed and chopped (1 tablespoon)
2 dried bay leaves
2 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/3-inch thick
5 cups Traditional Fish Stock (recipe above)
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds skinless haddock or cod fillets, preferably more than 1 inch thick, pin bones removed
11/2 cups heavy cream (or up to 2 cups, if desired)
For garnish:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced salt pork. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the pork is a crisp golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cracklings into a small ovenproof dish, leaving the fat in the pot, and reserve until later.
Add the butter, onions, savory or thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and saute, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 8 minutes, or until the onions are softened but not browned.
Add the potatoes and stock. If the stock doesn’t cover the potatoes, add just enough water to cover them. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 10 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the stock hasn’t thickened lightly, smash a few of the potato slices against the side of the pot and cook for a minute or two longer to release their starch. Reduce the heat to low and season assertively with salt and pepper (you want to almost over-season the chowder at this point to avoid having to stir it much once the fish is added). Add the fish fillets and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and allow the chowder to sit for 10 minutes. The fish will finish cooking during this time.
Gently stir in the cream and taste for salt and pepper. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit for up to an hour at room temperature, allowing the flavors to meld.
When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don’t let it boil. Warm the cracklings in a low oven (200 degrees F) for a few minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to mound the chunks of fish, the onions and the potatoes in the center of large soup plates or shallow bowls, and ladle the creamy broth around. Scatter the cracklings over the individual servings and finish each with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and minced chives.
Makes about 14 cups. Serves 8 as a main course.
San Francisco Crab “Meatball” Chowder
The chowder can be made up to 2 days in advance, but the crab meatballs should be made the day they are to be served. They are pan fried at the last minute as the chowder is reheating.
For the crab “meatballs”:
1 pound crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 heaping teaspoon Coleman’s dry English mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces oyster crackers, Pilot crackers, or other similar crackers, finely ground (about 1 cup)
Kosher or sea salt
Tabasco or other hot sauce
About 1 cup vegetable oil, for cooking the meatballs
For the chowder:
2 medium blue or rock crabs (12 ounces each) or 1 Dungeness crab (11/2 to 2 pounds)
4 ounces slab (unsliced) bacon, rind removed, cut into 1/3-inch dice
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion (8 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 medium green bell pepper (4 to 6 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
11/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
4 cups Traditional Fish Stock (recipe above)
1 can (28 ounces) peeled whole tomatoes in juice, cut into 1/2-inch dice
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For garnish:
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
To make the meatballs, place the crabmeat in a mixing bowl and shred with a fork. Add the eggs, milk, dry mustard, pepper and cracker crumbs. Mix well. Season with salt and hot sauce to taste. Moisten your hands and roll the mixture into balls that are about 3/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter (about 1/2 ounce each); keep your hands slightly wet so the balls are very smooth. Place on a cookie sheet. You should have about 36 balls. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the chowder.
To cook the crabs, fill a 6- to 8-quart pot with 1/2 inch ocean water or tap water with enough salt to make it very salty. Bring to a boil, place the crab(s) top shell (carapace) down in the pot, cover, and steam for about 12 minutes for smaller crabs, about 20 minutes for a Dungeness crab. Remove and allow to cool at room temperature.
When cool enough to handle, remove crab legs, break into sections, and neatly crack the large pieces. Pick the meat from the small pieces and reserve. Remove the apron (tail flap) from the bottom of each crab and discard. Remove the top shell, scoop the green stuff (tomalley) out of it, and reserve; discard the shell. Remove the gills from the body and discard. Cut the body into quarters and trim away any extraneous shell or cartilage. Refrigerate all the crabmeat, crab pieces and tomalley until ready to use.
Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the bacon. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is a crisp golden brown. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the butter, onion, bell pepper, bay leaves and the Old Bay seasoning and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until the onion and pepper are softened but not browned.
Add the potatoes and fish stock, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 10 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the broth hasn’t thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot and cook a minute or two longer to release their starch.
Lower the heat to medium, add the tomatoes and bring back to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cracked crab legs, picked leg meat, tomalley and body sections. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.
When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat. While it is reheating, place an 8- or 9-inch skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat, add about 1/2 inch vegetable oil, and heat to about 350 degrees F. Carefully but quickly add 8 to 10 meatballs to the hot oil and pan-fry, turning them as needed, until they are a rich brown color on all sides, so they resemble real meatballs. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs, letting the excess oil drain back into the pan, then place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining meatballs.
Ladle the chowder into shallow bowls or large soup plates, making sure that the crab, onions, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes are evenly divided. Place 4 meatballs in each bowl and sprinkle generously with the chopped parsley. Serve the remaining meatballs on a plate or platter; your guests can add more, if desired.
Makes about 12 cups. Serves 6 to 8 as a main course.
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