Corn Chowder
Tag : Art of Eating
Naomi Bossom
R E C I P E S
Corn Chowder
By Edward Behr
Apart from the corn, the ingredients of New England corn chowder were generally on hand 50 years ago, and in some households well after that: salt pork, potatoes, onions, and common crackers (saltines). The version below, compared with some, calls for more corn and more salt pork or bacon — always salt pork, once — and much more cream. It’s hard to go far wrong with the proportions, but seasoning matters, meaning enough salt, and herbs are natural though not especially traditional. The old varieties of corn tasted cornier, but after you picked them, you had to cook them quickly before they turned to starch, and you’re unlikely to find them unless you grow them yourself. Crackers always went with chowder, sometimes placed in the bottom of each bowl, although now they’re generally served alongside for you to crumble in, or not. I tend to leave them out. (For more on chowder, see Nancy Harmon Jenkins’s recipe for Downeast Fish Chowder.) The browned bits of pork are often cooked with the corn and potatoes, but they keep a firmer texture if you set them aside and add them at the end. The pork isn’t essential: I made approximately the version below, without pork, for about 80 people, and it had plenty of flavor.
175 gr (6 oz) salt pork or sliced bacon (smoked or unsmoked), diced
1 medium onion, diced
around 900 ml (3½ to 4 cups) corn kernels (cut from 10 to 12 ears), either raw or left from previous boiled corn on the cob
400 gr (3 cups) diced potatoes
½ teaspoon dried thyme or several fresh whole branches, tied in a bundle or bag
1 bay leaf
500 ml (2 cups) water
500 ml (2 cups) heavy cream
250 ml (1 cup) milk
salt and pepper
saltine crackers, optional
Cook the salt pork or bacon in a large pot over medium heat until golden. Remove and reserve the pieces. Add the onion to the fat in the pan and cook until golden. Add the corn, potatoes, herbs, and water, and cook until tender. Add the cream and milk, stir in the salt pork or bacon, and heat but don’t boil, so as not to curdle the milk. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with crackers, if you want. Serves 4, as a main course.
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