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Creamy Seafood Chowder

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Ingredients
  

  • 4 strips thick cut smoked bacon, chopped small
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1 small white onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups low sodium seafood or chicken stock
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. coarse black pepper
  • 2 large bay leaves
  • ½ tsp. dried summer savory or thyme
  • Zest of half a large lemon
  • 3-pounds assorted fish and seafood (cod, shrimp, salmon, mussels, etc.), diced
  • 1-½ cups whipping cream

Instructions
 

  • In the bottom of a large Dutch oven, crisply cook the chopped bacon.
  • Remove half of the bacon fat and discard; remove, and reserve, a little of the crisp bacon to garnish the top when serving.
  • Using the same Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter along with the onions and garlic; sauté until the onions soften but do not brown.
  • Add the flour and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes; do not let the flour brown; if it does start to brown, add the seafood stock immediately to stop the cooking action; stirring constantly.
  • Next add the milk, salt, pepper, bay leaves, savory or thyme and lemon zest; taste the broth to see if it requires additional salt.
  • Simmer the broth for 20 minutes; add the seafood and continue simmering slowly for an additional 10 minutes; try and maintain a very gentle simmer; this process is practically poaching the fish; the result will be a much better presentation if the chunks of seafood remain whole.
  • Finally, add the whipping cream to finish the chowder; bring back to a boil; remove from heat and serve immediately.
  • Suggested presentation method is to use a slotted spoon to remove the seafood chunks to the centers of shallow bowls; add the broth around the rest of the bowl; sprinkle top with the reserved crispy bacon.

Notes

If you are using mussels in the recipe, you can keep them in the shell, especially if they are small; if adding without the shell, simply steam them for only about 3 minutes until they open up. They can finish cooking in the broth when added with the other seafood. This is the preferred method because unopened mussels should not be left in the chowder nor served.  
If using fresh herbs in the broth instead of dried, double the amount (except for bay leaves).