Best Fish Chowder From Sam Sifton In The New York Times C H E W I N G T H E F A T Recipes

SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. You should have 5 or 6 cups. Remove clams from shells, and set aside as well.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove pork from fat, and set aside.
• Add the dulse and the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, then stir in the carrots, parsnips, potatoes and wine, and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and the vegetables have just started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add enough clam broth to just cover them, approximately 4 to 5 cups, reserving the rest for another use. Add the thyme and the bay leaves.
• Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until vegetables are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits about the size of the bacon dice. When the vegetables are tender, add the cream, and stir in the chopped clams and reserved bacon. Add black pepper to taste. Let come to a simmer. (Do not let chowder come to a full boil.) Remove the thyme and the bay leaves, and discard.
• If serving right away, slip the fish fingers into the chowder, place the scallops on the surface and allow them all to cook into translucence in the heat, approximately 5-7 minutes. But chowder improves mightily if it sits overnight to cure. If you have the time, don't add the fish and scallops right away, but allow the chowder to chill in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat it to a bare simmer before adding and cooking them through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, garnished with the chopped parsley.

FISH CHOWDER

Steps:

• Rinse the fish and place in a kettle with the bay leaves and peppercorns. Add water to cover, at least two and one-half cups, and bring to a simmer over gentle heat. Cover the kettle and let simmer, 10 to 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through but still firm-textured. (If necessary, you may cut the fish in half in order to fit the kettle.) Remove the fish from the broth. Skin and bone the cooked fish, break the flesh into chunks and set aside. Return the skin and bones, as well as head and tail pieces, to the broth and continue to simmer, covered, for 30 minutes to give a well-flavored broth for the chowder.
• Melt the butter in another soup kettle and gently saute the diced salt pork until the scraps have rendered their fat and turned crisp and brown. Remove the pork, drain on absorbent paper and set aside.
• In the hot fat, saute the onion slices gently until they begin to brown. Then add the potato cubes and turn in hot fat to coat them well. When the potatoes begin to sizzle, add at least two cups of fish broth, strained of the bay leaves and peppercorns. The potatoes should be floating, but not drowning, in the liquid. Simmer gently, covered, until the potatoes are tender enough to pierce with a fork.
• Add the fish pieces and continue simmering another five minutes.
• Heat the whole milk to just below boiling. Add it, a quarter of a cup at a time, to the chowder. Heat the evaporated milk and add it in a similar fashion. From the moment the milk is added, the chowder must not boil. This is very important. If it boils, it may curdle.
• Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper and the dry mustard powder. Mix well. Then put the chowder ''to set,'' as they say in Maine, for at least two hours. Ideally, it should be placed on the least warm area of the woodstove top where it will stay just below the simmering point. A very low gas flame, as long as the chowder doesn't boil, will do as well. If you can't keep it at a temperature just below boiling, it is better to refrigerate the chowder for a day, rather than leaving it at room temperature.
• When ready to serve, reheat the chowder, without bringing to the boil. Put a pat of butter in each chowder bowl before filling it, and sprinkle bits of browned pork scraps over the top. Pass the crackers to add to the soup.

MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, and set those aside as well.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon or salt pork, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove pork from fat, and set aside.
• Add onions, garlic, celery, green peppers and carrots to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft but not brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in potatoes, and continue cooking until they have just started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add 4 cups of clam broth, reserving the rest for another use. Add the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf.
• Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Using the back of a wooden spoon, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot to release their starch and help thicken the broth.
• Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits that are about the size of the bacon dice.
• When potatoes are tender, stir in tomatoes, and heat them through. Add chopped clams and reserved bacon, stirring to combine. Add black pepper to taste. Let chowder come to a simmer, and remove from heat. Fish out the thyme and the bay leaf, and discard.
• The chowder should be allowed to sit for a while to cure. Reheat it before serving, then garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with oyster crackers.

SMOKY FISH CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a heavy pot over medium-high heat, brown bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
• Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pot. Add butter and let melt. Add leeks and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring frequently, until leeks are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika; cook 1 minute. Pour in vermouth and simmer until almost completely evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in stock, 1 cup water, potatoes, thyme and remaining salt. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
• Add milk and cooked bacon to pot; bring to a simmer. Add fish and cook until just opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. Use a fork to flake fish into large pieces. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove thyme. Serve immediately.