I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a chowder snob. I grew up down the street from New Bedford and Cape Cod so I was surrounded by great (and not so great) chowders.

To me, a great chowder should be creamy, but not super thick, and the seafood should be the main attraction. While bacon or other porky bites are often found in traditional New England chowders, my recipe skips it. Instead, this recipe incorporates fresh herbs and corn to keep it light and flavorful while letting the seafood be the star. I also don’t feel like I need a nap after eating a bowl of this chowder - thank goodness!

This recipe yields quite a bit of chowder - about 5 quarts! That’s plenty for a big family who likes leftovers or enough to bring to a potluck. If 5 quarts is too much, the recipe can be cut in half.

*New England style chowder with skate, hake, corn, and wild foraged ramps. April 2020. Recipe by Amanda Davis, Our Wicked Fish*

why use Hake and Skate in chowder

Skate and hake are my FAVORITE fish to use in chowder. Unlike haddock or cod, skate and hake stay together when they’re in a soup! This means you get to have big succulent bites of fish instead of tiny flaky pieces that can completely change the texture of your chowder.

Other fishes that are local and stay together well in chowder are Atlantic pollock, monkfish and dogfish. Lobster and clams would be great in this chowder too.

New England Style Chowder with Hake, Skate, and Corn

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 - 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb of hake fillet, patted dry and cut into 3/4in. cubes
1 lb of skate fillet ( about 2 skate fillets), patted dry and cut across the ribbons
6 large potatoes - cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 pint of diced white onion
1 pint of diced celery
1 pint of sweet corn kernels (canned, frozen, or fresh)
4 bay leaves
2 Tbs celery seeds
1/2 Tbs fresh thyme
a little less than 1/2 gallon of milk
some oil and butter
at least 1 Tbs of kosher salt & pepper

To Make:

In a pan on medium heat, add onion, celery, 2 Tbs of oil or butter, and season with a generous amount of kosher salt and pepper. Saute until translucent.
Add 4 bay leaves and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes on low.
Add in whole milk, corn, potatoes. Bring to simmer then lower heat to let potatoes cook (about 10 minutes). Stir frequently to avoid scalding the pot.
After the potatoes cook through, turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaves.
Put ~ 3 cups of the chowder into a separate bowl. Working in small batches with these 3 cups, a wand blender or regular blender to blend the chowder until it is smooth. Be sure to leave some corn and potatoes in the main pot.
Add the blended 3 cups back to the pot. Season with salt, pepper, celery seed, and thyme
Bring back to a low simmer to let the starches from the blended potatoes thicken the chowder.
Finally, add fish. Let cook for 3-4 minutes. Finish seasoning with more salt and pepper if desired. It’s ready to serve with some crusty garlic bread!

Storing Chowder: Chowder should cooled in a open container before being lidded and put into the fridge. Chowder will be good for 2 - 4 days. Freezing chowder is also an option HOWEVER the texture of the fish will likely change. If you anticipate freezing the chowder, we suggest you only use skate because hake changes its texture after it has been frozen.

Extra Additions: Some fresh chives, leeks, or ramps (as shown in picture) would be great additions to this chowder, too.