Six slices of bacon crisped and set aside, with a single tablespoon of the drippings used to soften an onion.
Potatoes, corn and stock cook five hours on LOW; cod and half-and-half go in for a final fifteen to twenty minutes on HIGH, and the bacon returns in two halves.
Why This Recipe Works
- The bacon is cooked first and added last. Rendered in the skillet it turns crisp; put in the cooker for five hours it would be soft and its fat would separate out of the chowder.
- Half-and-half rather than cream, and only at the end. It is rich enough to make a chowder and light enough not to split in twenty minutes on HIGH — and five hours would have curdled anything dairy.
- Yukon Golds in half-inch cubes. They hold their shape across five hours while giving up enough starch to thicken the broth, which is why this chowder needs no flour or roux at all.
- The fish is the last thing in. Cod cooks in minutes; everything before it is a base it could not have survived.
- Only a tablespoon of the drippings. Bacon fat is the flavour, but six slices' worth would leave a chowder that reads greasy rather than creamy.
Five Hours, Then Twenty Minutes
Nothing delicate goes into this chowder until the very end. The base takes five hours; the fish and the cream take twenty minutes, and both would be ruined by the other's schedule.
Before the cooker, in a skillet
6 slices chopped bacon, then the onion in 1 tablespoon of its drippings
A slow cooker cannot crisp bacon or sweat an onion. Three minutes in the drippings is the only browning this recipe gets, and it is what stops it tasting boiled.
Hour 0
Onion, potatoes, corn, stock, thyme, salt and pepper
Note what is absent: no bacon, no fish, no dairy. Only the things that improve over five hours.
Hours 0 to 5, LOW
Nothing
Long enough for half-inch Yukon Gold cubes to go tender and start releasing the starch that gives a chowder its body.
Hour 5, and the heat goes UP
1 pound cod in 1-inch pieces and 1 cup half-and-half
HIGH for 15 to 20 minutes. The fish needs to come up fast, and half-and-half added five hours earlier would have curdled long before.
Off the heat
Half the bacon stirred in, the rest and the chives on top
Bacon stirred through goes soft, which is what you want in the broth; the half held back is the only crunch in the bowl.
Ingredient Notes
- Firm white fish such as cod
- A pound, in inch pieces. Firm is what holds together in the last twenty minutes; a delicate fish would break into threads.
- Bacon, chopped
- Six slices, crisped first and split across steps 5 and 6. Only one tablespoon of the drippings is used.
- Yukon Gold potatoes
- A pound and a half in half-inch cubes. Their starch is the thickener — there is no flour in this chowder.
- Half-and-half
- One cup, added at step 5. Never at the start: five hours on LOW curdles it.
- Corn kernels
- Two cups, in from the beginning. Sweetcorn is robust enough for five hours and it is one of the four defining ingredients.
How to Make It
Crisp the bacon
Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Transfer it to a plate and reserve 1 tablespoon drippings.
Soften the onion
Cook the onion in the drippings for 3 minutes.
Build the base
Add the onion, potatoes, corn, stock, thyme, salt and pepper to a slow cooker.
Cook on LOW
Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours, until the potatoes are tender.
Fish and cream, on HIGH
Stir in the fish and half-and-half. Cover and cook on HIGH for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish reaches 145°F and flakes easily.
Bacon back, in two halves
Stir in half the bacon. Serve topped with the remaining bacon and chives.
Success Tips
- Reserve exactly one tablespoon of drippings and discard the rest.
- Cube the potatoes evenly so they are all tender at hour five.
- Turn the cooker to HIGH before the fish and cream go in, not after.
- Stop as soon as the fish flakes; it carries on cooking in hot chowder.
- Keep half the bacon dry and separate until the moment it is served.
Serving Ideas
Oyster crackers or crusty bread. It is a full bowl and wants nothing more than something to mop it with.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Fish chowders are best soon after making, and the fish softens noticeably on the second day.
Freeze
Freezing is not recommended. Dairy separates and cooked white fish goes woolly.
Reheat
Reheat gently over low heat only until steaming. A boil will split the half-and-half and overcook the fish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put the fish in earlier?
Five hours would reduce cod to threads. Fifteen to twenty minutes on HIGH is all it needs, and that is the point of doing it last.
The chowder looked split.
Dairy added too early or cooked too hard. Half-and-half goes in at step 5 and gets twenty minutes on HIGH, not five hours on LOW.
Can I make it thicker?
Mash a few of the cooked potato cubes against the side of the cooker before the fish goes in. That thickens it with what is already there rather than adding flour.
What if I have no seafood stock?
Chicken broth is named in the ingredient line as the alternative. The chowder is a little less deep but nothing else changes.
