This Soup Deserves JUST AS MUCH attention as Clam Chowder

Fish chowder goes all the way back to the 18th century. In fact, chowder didn't start off using clams at all. And just like in most classical recipes, it started off with what you had available. So in this case, whatever they caught in the ocean, coupled with classical cooking techniques is what they made and what they had, and it always makes the most delicious meals. This fish chowder falls right in line with that. Let's start off by knocking out some prep. Sound good? Let's cook. We are gonna start off with one large yellow onion. You could also use a sweet or a white onion in this case as well. So slice off the ends, slice it in half, remove that outside peel, and then all we wanna do is small dice this onion. When it's done, set it to the side. Next, I have two leeks. Now, you can't use the entire leek, so slice off the end and go right till it starts to turn really dark green. The problem is with that really dark green area, it can be very tough even after you cook it. So slice it right there. I'm gonna quarter it and then thinly slice them. Now, once they are all cut, I'm gonna add them to a colander because guess what? Leeks can get pretty dirty. So I'm gonna head over to the sink and give them a quick rinse to make sure there's no dirt or mud or anything like that on there, and then just set them to the side. Next, I have six ribs of celery. We are gonna thickly cut this. Whenever I think chowder, I think thick, chunky vegetables. So that's what we're gonna do here. Then I have two whole garlic cloves. We're just going to smash those and then give them a fine mince. Then I have six strips of bacon or about a half pound or 226 grams. What we're gonna do is just slice these up until they're about medium-sized dice. This is perfect. Let's set that to the side, and now let's bring out the fish. I have two pounds or 907 grams of fresh fish. It could also be frozen and thawed, and an assortment is great. I've got halibut, sea bass, a little bit of cod, and sablefish. Now, a lot of times, the fish is not skinned, especially if you don't ask for it. So slice down on the end a little bit, just until your knife reaches the skin, and then wiggle it back and forth. A lot of times, though, the skin is real slippery to hold onto, so a paper towel is great. Wiggle the skin and let the knife do the work and perfectly skinned every time. Now what we're gonna do is generously season it on both sides with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and then briefly set it to the side. All right, comis, my chefs-in-training out there, just like in the original recipe, whatever fish you have to use is what you put in there. You've got some leftover shrimp or clams, chop it up and use it. In fact, if you've got frozen spare parts of fish in the freezer, pull them out, thaw them out, and use it. That is what this recipe is all about, what you've got on hand and how to make it taste delicious. All right, I am gonna do something a little awesome with this fish, but first, let's start cooking our bacon. All right, in a large seven quart or 6.6 liter pot, we are gonna turn the heat to medium. Let's add our bacon in there. All we're looking to do is crisp it up and cook it through, so maybe just six to seven minutes until it gets nice and brown, just like this. Then at this stage, I'm gonna swap out for a slotted spoon and I'm going to set it to the side briefly in a bowl. Then going back to the pan, still on medium heat, you see it start to lightly smoke. This is excellent. I'm gonna add the fish in there. And I wanna give it a quick sear. It doesn't have to be perfectly brown, but I think the little sear will make the chowder that much more flavorful. So once everything's in there, we're gonna add in two tablespoons or 30 grams of unsalted butter to help the browning and flavor process, and then just sear it for two to three minutes per side. That is it. Once they are done cooking, we're just gonna briefly set them to the side on a plate. And yes, I know that's a little bit unorthodox, but think about when things are browned up and lightly seared. So much more flavor. Look, even if the fish falls apart, who cares? That little sear is going to go a long way into making sure this fish chowder is absolutely delicious. What we're gonna do now is start caramelizing up our onions and leeks. So back in that pan over low to medium heat, let's add in the onions, let's add in the leeks. There's already so much flavor and so much goodness in this pan, the bacon, the fish, you name it. We are gonna cook these until brown. We're not doing a full caramelization, but we will take about 15 to 20 minutes to make sure they are nice and browned up. Then at this stage, let's add the celery. We're going to cook this for about three to four minutes, just a real quick saute, not worried about getting brown or anything like that, just incorporating a little bit more celery flavor. Now at this stage, we're gonna add in the garlic, and you know the routine. Once you smell it, it's done. So about 30 to 45 seconds, the garlic's going to be cooked. Then at this stage, I want to deglaze, and I'm going to use a half cup or 118 milliliters of cream sherry. We're gonna mix this in and cook it down until au sec or almost gone. Now I'm telling you what, cream sherry just takes this fish chowder next level. Now if you can't find it, some other great options are regular sherry, white wine like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio, or even vermouth. Any of those are great, but if you can find cream sherry, do it. Now if you don't want any alcohol at all or you just can't drink it, just skip that procedure. Lastly, you want to make this a little Manhattan chowder style. What you can do is add in one 15 ounce or 425 gram can of crushed tomatoes. Gives it a nice little pink, red color to it. It's really, really good. All right, here's what we do next. While the cream sherry is still cooking down, we're gonna prep up our potatoes. I have six medium-sized Yukon potatoes. You could use four large Yukons or even russet potatoes. We're going to quarter them and then slice them about a half inch thick. Now the reason I'm waiting until now to cut them is I don't want to hold them in any water. I want all the starch from the potatoes as possible to gently thicken up the chowder. This is what is going to be used to make sure our chowder's that perfect consistency. So once they're done being cut, we're going right back over to that pan. We're gonna add everything in there. Now at this stage, we're going to add in six cups or 1,420 milliliters of fish fumet, also known as fish stock. I'm all about options today. If for some reason you don't have fish fumet, which I'm guessing you probably don't, the other options are clam juice, water, clam juice and water, or chicken stock, you be the judge. Add in two teaspoons or two grams of fresh thyme leaves and two bay leaves. We're gonna turn the heat from low-medium all the way up to high because we want to bring it to a boil. Once it's at that low boil, let's grab our fish and add it gently right on top of the potatoes. Then at this stage, we are gonna grab that lid, put it on and cook it over low heat for five minutes. In the meantime, in a separate medium-sized pot, we are going to add in two cups or 473 milliliters of half-and-half. You could also use heavy cream or even whole milk. We just want to scald it, which only takes a few minutes. That's why it's perfect timing to do this while the fish is cooking. Let's have a look at that fish chowder. Speaking of, it's done. Let's add in the crispy bacon. Then we're gonna add in that scalded half-and-half. Now to season everything up, add in sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper. Now we're gonna add a little Worcestershire sauce for some natural salts. Then I like a few dashes of hot sauce. Mix everything together, but do it gently. We want nice, big chunks of fish. Don't just whisk it up. Gently break it up, and of course, taste it. What does it need? More hot sauce, more salt? You be the judge here. Make sure the chowder is to your liking. And to me, this fish chowder is perfect. It doesn't need to be some big, thick, gloppy mess. However, if you do want to thicken it a little bit more, you can use the exact same procedures that are in my lobster bisque recipe video. You can finish with a slurry or even a beurre manier, bring it to a boil. You'll have a thicker soup. To me, I'm telling you, it is awesome. Always goes back to these techniques. I always tell you. Let me show you how to plate this up. You can add it to a bowl. I just happen to have one of those cool soup crocks lying around, so I'm gonna add in a big ladle full of that. Then sprinkle on some fresh chopped parsley and some fresh thyme leaves for some more flavor. And wow, is this so good. Simple, delicious, and use what you've got or what you can get ahold of. I'm telling you what, no matter what, it is going to be so tasty. Now, if you like this, you're gonna love my sea bass recipe. I've got an awesome video. See you on there.