Corn Chowder

Easy Corn Chowder

Ingredients 

8 unshucked ears of corn

10 slices of chopped bacon

1 peeled and small diced sweet onion

4 small diced stalks of celery

1 seeded and small diced red bell pepper

3 finely minced cloves of garlic

1/3 cup of cream sherry

10 each large diced red potatoes

80 ounces chicken stock

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

2 cups 1/2 and 1/2

sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Tabasco to taste

Lea & Perrins Washyoursister Sauce to taste

fresh sliced green for garnish

How to Make Corn Chowder

Add some corn in the husk to a sheet tray and bake it at 425° for about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, render the bacon fat in a large pot until crispy brown. Once cooked, set the lardons aside.

Add the onions, celery, peppers, and garlic to the rendered bacon fat and cook until browned over medium heat, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Deglaze with the cream sherry and cook until it has been absorbed; only a small amount remains.

Now, remove the corn from the oven and cool slightly before shucking. Trim the kernels off the cob and add them to the pot with sautéed vegetables and the potatoes.

Pour in the stock, turn the heat to high, and bring the soup to a boil.

While the soup is coming to a boil, we need to thicken it. You can make a blond roux by cooking equal parts flour and butter in a sauté pan over low heat until combined.

Whisk the slurry or roux into the soup until it becomes very thick, as a chowder should be, and cook it for a few more minutes over medium-low heat. The technical term is nappe, which means the soup can coat the back of a spoon.

Whisk in ½ and 1/2 and back in the crispy bacon lardons with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce.

How to Store: This can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can be frozen in a plastic container for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for one day before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a small pot over low heat until hot. The soup may need to be re-seasoned with salt and pepper and thickened.

Substitute with about 4 cups of frozen or canned corn kernels.

A roux is a thickening agent used in cooking and commonly used in chowders.  It provides thickness and body to the soup. 

The technical term for deglazing and cooking liquid until it is almost gone is au sec.

To re-thicken, add a small amount of slurry to the soup once it’s brought to a boil.

A slurry is an equal parts volume of cornstarch mixed with water until combined.

The outer husk should be firm if you’re unfamiliar with selecting fresh corn. The top part of the husk, where all the silk is ( that’s the long stringy stuff), should be a little moist. There should also be no blemishes on the outside.