I added this recipe after a trip to Chesapeake Bay where I had the most delicious corn chowder at a pub there. It was so good I just had to get some tips from their chef-owner so I could make it for myself back home.
The longer you cook, the more you study recipes that have fewer ingredients, not more. You study the cooking methodologies and the tips they give you because that means these chefs really know what they are doing – or else it would take spices, hot sauce, and lots of masking ingredient thingies to make it taste good.
But that also means that it’s not such a great recipe. Corn tastes delicious right off the ear, right? With just a bit of salt and butter, right? And that’s the secret of this recipe. It knows how to use just enough natural ingredients to let the ingredients that matter step forth and steal the show.
This Corn Chowder does just that. It has only seven wholesome ingredients plus salt and pepper and that’s how you know it’s going to be amazing. It tastes good with just the flavors of the vegetables themselves.
The Beauty of Cooking With Corn
This chowder comes together quite quickly. All you have to do is sauté your bacon and remove it once crispy, keeping that bacon to sprinkle on top for later, and use those flavor-rich bacon drippings to sauté your onions and garlic till translucent. Then the hard part is basically done. You add in your diced potatoes, fresh or frozen corn, and liquids and let that big pot of deliciousness simmer over low-medium heat for about 15 – 20 minutes or until your potatoes are tender and you, my dear, have the most delicious corn chowder ever made.
Corn chowder can be made even more delicious with all kinds of inventive add-ins from cheese, to okra, to tomatoes.
How to Make Ahead and Store?
Corn Chowder can be refrigerated up to 5 days but that presence of half-and-half means no freezing for this chowder. The only way you could freeze it, and this would be quite easy, is to make the chowder and leave out the half and half, adding that after your chowder has defrosted and is heating up in the pot. If you do remove the milk, you could freeze this chowder 3 to 4 months, because all that would be in there would be chicken broth and other non-dairy ingredients.
Serving Suggestions
Corn Chowder is a hearty soup that would be best served with a rustic bread to help soak up some of the stew’s luscious broth and, perhaps, a cold, crisp side dish. This easy Irish Soda Bread would be perfect for serving with Corn Chowder. The vinegary flavors of this Easy Greek Salad would be really nice with this sweet corn stew too. And a nice, sweet dessert like my Baklava would be perfect here, because after all this rustic, savory dining, you’ll deserve a really sweet treat.
Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 2 large russet potatoes peeled and diced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Chopped chives for garnish optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pot.
- Add the diced onion to the pot and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute, until fragrant.
- Add the corn kernels and diced potatoes to the pot, stirring to combine with the onion and garlic.
- Pour in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in the half-and-half and cooked bacon, and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot, garnished with chopped chives if desired.
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