Best Seafood Chowder Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a thickening agent for seafood chowder? ›

How to thicken seafood chowder? Though a traditional recipe will call for milk, cream, as well as a roux to ensure a creamy and thick seafood chowder, you may feel the need to thicken it further. To do so, make a cornflour slurry by combing equal parts cornflour and cold water, broth, or soup.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot. Pro tip: Don't dump in the entire mixture at once.

You can start with 2 tablespoons of flour for every 1 cup of liquid as a general rule of thumb. To make a smooth paste, combine the flour with a small amount of cold liquid. Stir the paste gradually into the soup. To allow the flour to thicken the mixture, cook and stir it for a few minutes.

New England Clam Chowder is the most famous and most popular clam chowder. It's been around for centuries, so it's possible its longevity has contributed to its popularity. It's also thick and velvety, making it a comforting palate-pleaser, particularly on cold days.

The most classic and surefire way to thicken a broth-based soup is with a cornstarch slurry. Whisk together equal parts cornstarch (or arrowroot) and water or broth, then whisk it into the pot of soup. A good ratio to get to a pleasant thickness without your soup tasting goopy or heavy is one tablespoon.

Heavy cream

Use heavy cream as a keto-friendly thickening option for your soups and broths. Heavy cream has more fat than regular whole milk, so you can add it to your soup recipes without worrying about it curdling.

Flour: Thicken the chowder up with all-purpose flour. Seasonings: Season the fish chowder with Old Bay seasoning, salt, and pepper. Evaporated milk: Evaporated milk makes the chowder even thicker and richer.

Can I substitute the heavy cream in soup? Short answer: Yes. Recommended substitutes: Evaporated milk, whole milk, coconut milk, cashew cream, onion cream.

Stabilize with a Starch

Starches like flour or cornstarch help stabilize the milk emulsion. This will prevent it from separating. A common technique is to thicken your sauce or soup with roux before adding the milk. This changes the makeup of the liquid and prevents curdling.

Roux is a cooked mixture of flour and fat and is used to thicken soups and sauces. A crumbly mixture, it is added to liquid and boiled until thick, resulting in a rich, heavy, and opaque liquid.

How do you make chowder less watery? ›

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

Customarily, chowder included onion, potatoes, and cream. Nowadays, not all chowders adhere to these guidelines.

Many regional variations exist, but the three most prevalent are New England or "white" clam chowder, which includes milk or cream, Manhattan or "red" clam chowder, which includes tomatoes, and Rhode Island or "clear" clam chowder, which omits both.

A chowder is a thick, creamy soup featuring diced or chopped ingredients, left chunky for a hearty final result. Traditional chowder recipes feature seafood ingredients—for instance, clams or fish—while others forgo seafood in favor of vegetables or starches, like corn.

Use a Roux:A roux is a mixture of fat (usually butter) and flour. Melt the butter, add an equal amount of flour, and cook it until it turns a light golden color. Gradually whisk in hot broth or milk to create a smooth paste. Stir this roux into your soup and simmer until it thickens.

Add Cornstarch or Flour: Mix a slurry of cornstarch or flour with water or broth until smooth, then gradually stir it into the sauce while simmering until desired thickness is reached.