Best Seafood Chowder

Total Time Prep: 30 min. Cook: 30 min.
Yield 32 servings (8 quarts)
Test Kitchen Approved
This seafood chowder recipe will transport you to coastal Maine.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound sliced bacon, diced
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 6 cups cubed peeled potatoes
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 pound bay or sea scallops, quartered
  • 1 pound lobster meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 pound cod, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 pound haddock, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 4 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 2 quarts whole milk
  • 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
  • Oyster crackers, optional

Directions

  1. In a large soup kettle or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels; set aside drippings. Saute onions in drippings until tender. Add potatoes and water; bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes.
  2. Add the scallops, lobster, shrimp, cod and haddock. Cook for 10 minutes or until scallops are opaque, shrimp turn pink and fish flakes easily with a fork. Add the butter, salt, parsley and curry powder. Stir in milk and evaporated milk; heat through. Garnish with bacon, and additional parsley and oyster crackers if desired.

Nutrition Facts

1 cup: 193 calories, 9g fat (4g saturated fat), 76mg cholesterol, 625mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 1g fiber), 17g protein.

My husband is an avid fisherman. When a family get-together was planned and we had to bring something, we created this recipe using fish from our freezer. The chowder got rave reviews from the relatives! —Heather Saunders, Belchertown, Massachusetts
Recipe Creator

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