Stellar Seafood Chowder
If you need an explanation what chowder has to do with spicy food, then you need my help. A good chowder is only made better when you add a lot of hot sauce. That being said; I came across the best seafood chowder I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating during my trip to Alaska last month. Normally something like that wouldn’t warrant a blog post, BUT the good folks at The Pump House in Fairbanks, AK just happened to give me the recipe.
I wish I could say that they took me into a back room, and made a copy of a top secret family recipe just for me. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Unlike 99% of the restaurants out there, they share the recipe for one of their signature dishes on a business card that is given to anyone that asks. I asked, and now I will share this amazing recipe with you. Make sure to let me know if you agree with my assessment of this delicious soup.
Authentic Pump House Seafood Chowder (Makes 3 Quarts)
Ingredients
1-1/2 Cup of diced onion (1/2 inch dice)
3/4 Cup Celery (1/2 inch dice)
1/2 Cup carrots (1/2 inch dice)
2/3 Cup butter
1 Cup of flour
2 oz fish base
1 Cup of water
10 oz salmon
10 oz halibut
6 oz bay scallops
14 oz canned chopped clams w/juice
10 oz red potatoes (3/4 inch dice & cooked)
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 Tsp cayenne
1-1/2 tsp basil dried, (3 tsp fresh is better)
1-1/2 tsp thyme dried, (3 tsp fresh is better)
1-1/2 tsp chopped garlic
6 oz cocktail shrimp
3 Cups of heavy cream
Directions
In 4 quart stock pot, cook first 3 ingredients until translucent in butter.
Add flour to make roux. Cook 5 minutes.
Add raw seafood, water, fish base, clam juice, (saving clams for later).
Add potatoes and seasoning, cook on medium heat, stirring often until fish is cooked.
Add heavy cream, add shrimp and clam meat, cook ten minutes.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
I would love to see some hot sauce suggestions in the comments with this dish. Unfortunately Tabasco is the only choice when you’re in Alaska. ENJOY!
Awesome recipe James! Any of the All Spice Cafe sauces go extremely well in chowders or just about any soup for that matter!
Another option is the Ghost Pepper grinder – http://www.allspicecafe.com/catalog
I’ve found that white truffle oil is a great conduit for the ghost pepper coming out of the grinder. After serving a bowl of the chowder, I’d drizzle about a 1/2 tsp of white truffle oil and a couple twists of the ghost pepper grinder. Truly unbelievable!
I’ve use the grinder all the time on a fontina cheese and white truffle oil mac & cheese and most recently on a chicken and mushroom risotto. I asked the waiter to have a little bit of white truffle oil drizzled on top. The smoky flavor of the dried jolokia really comes through!
Nice. Not everyone will give away their secrets so you hit a home run here. I really like the cayenne that’s in it but I’d definitely want some more heat as well. A pepper puree swirled in would make me happy. You could use some kind of chile infused oil too just drizzled over the top.
I think in a recipe like this you could really add tons of heat and all of the cream would counteract it.
“Unfortunately Tabasco is the only choice when you’re in Alaska”…I’ll keep this in mind and carry my “survival kit” when I visit.
Cheers!
Matt Kay
It seems like the volume of liquid is not enough to make 3quarts”???????