Plate 06 of 10

Smoked Salmon Chowder

Name: Smoked Salmon Chowder
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Alaska
Ingredients: 450 g Hot-smoked wild sockeye or king salmon, skin removed, flaked into 2.5 cm chunks; 150 g Thick-cut smoked bacon, in 6 mm lardons; 45 g Unsalted butter; 250 g Leeks, white and pale green only, washed and thinly sliced; 150 g Celery, in 6 mm dice; 150 g Carrots, in 6 mm dice; 20 g Garlic, minced; 600 g Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, in 1.5 cm cubes; 200 g Sweet corn kernels, fresh or frozen; 30 g Plain flour; 120 ml Dry white wine; 1 L Seafood stock; 350 ml Heavy cream; 2 leaves Bay leaves; 4 g Dried thyme; 10 g Fine sea salt; 3 g White pepper; 15 g Fresh dill, chopped; 15 g Chives, minced

The winter pot of Kodiak, Sitka and Juneau. Bacon rendered, leeks, celery and carrot sweated in the fat, a light roux, white wine, seafood stock, Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet corn simmered until the potato starch thickens the broth, then cream, and alder-smoked sockeye folded in for the last four minutes so its smoke seeps into the cream.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 35 min
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Medium

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

A bowl of creamy ivory chowder with chunks of coral smoked salmon, potato, carrot and corn, topped with a sprig of dill, beside the sea.

Along the fishing ports of Kodiak, Sitka and Juneau, the summer salmon run is salted and hot-smoked over green alder in wooden smokehouses, mahogany on the outside and flaky within, to see families through the dark months. When the winter gales sweep in off the Gulf, that fish goes into the chowder pot.

Unlike a flour-heavy New England chowder, the Alaskan version gets its body from Yukon Gold potatoes and corn, enriched with cream, white wine and leeks. The smoked salmon goes in at the very end, and the smoke moves out of the fish and into the cream.

Ingredients

450 gHot-smoked wild sockeye or king salmon, skin removed, flaked into 2.5 cm chunks
150 gThick-cut smoked bacon, in 6 mm lardons
45 gUnsalted butter
250 gLeeks, white and pale green only, washed and thinly sliced
150 gCelery, in 6 mm dice
150 gCarrots, in 6 mm dice
20 gGarlic, minced
600 gYukon Gold potatoes, peeled, in 1.5 cm cubes
200 gSweet corn kernels, fresh or frozen
30 gPlain flour
120 mlDry white wine
1 LSeafood stock
350 mlHeavy cream
2 leavesBay leaves
4 gDried thyme
10 gFine sea saltto taste
3 gWhite pepper
15 gFresh dill, chopped
15 gChives, minced

Potatoes do the thickening

Yukon Golds have a medium starch content. Simmered at 88 to 92 °C their surface starch gelatinises and sheds into the broth, so the chowder thickens with only a light dusting of flour.

Cream below the boil

Heavy cream's fat globules hold together at a gentle simmer and split into oil above about 95 °C. Once the cream is in, keep the pot under 90.

Hot-smoked, not lox

Hot-smoked salmon is fully cooked and flakes firm. Cold-smoked lox is cured raw and turns salty and stringy in hot soup.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt is smoked salmon, bacon and sea salt. Fat is bacon, butter and cream. Acid is the reduced wine. Heat is white pepper and sweet leek. Umami is alder smoke, seafood stock and bacon fond.

Equipment

6 to 8-quart enamelled Dutch oven
Flat wooden spatula
Whisk
Ladle

A heavy-bottomed pot matters more than usual here, because potato starch and flour settle and scorch on a thin base.

Method

Render the bacon8 min
Cook the bacon in the Dutch oven over medium 6 to 8 minutes until crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon, leaving two tablespoons of fat.
Cook the bacon in the Dutch oven over medium 6 to 8 minutes until crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon, leaving two tablespoons of fat.
Sweat the vegetables8 min
Add the butter, then the leeks, celery and carrots. Sauté 6 to 7 minutes until soft with no colour. Add the garlic and thyme for 1 minute.
Add the butter, then the leeks, celery and carrots. Sauté 6 to 7 minutes until soft with no colour. Add the garlic and thyme for 1 minute.
Make the light roux2 min
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir 2 minutes to cook out the raw starch.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir 2 minutes to cook out the raw starch.
Wine and stock3 min
Pour in the wine, stirring hard to dissolve the fond, and cook 1 minute. Add the stock in a steady stream, whisking. Add the bay leaves, a teaspoon of salt and the white pepper.
Pour in the wine, stirring hard to dissolve the fond, and cook 1 minute. Add the stock in a steady stream, whisking. Add the bay leaves, a teaspoon of salt and the white pepper.
Simmer the potatoes and corn15 min
Add the potatoes and corn. Bring to a gentle boil, lower to medium-low and simmer uncovered 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Add the potatoes and corn. Bring to a gentle boil, lower to medium-low and simmer uncovered 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Enrich5 min
Lower the heat. Pour in the cream and crush a few potato cubes against the pot wall to release more starch. Simmer gently at about 85 °C for 5 minutes until it coats a spoon. Never boil.
Lower heat; add cream and crush a few potato cubes against the pot. Simmer gently around 85 °C for 5 minutes until spoon-coating; keep below 90 °C and never boil.
Fold in the salmon4 min
Fold in the smoked salmon and half the bacon. Warm 3 to 4 minutes on low until the fish is hot and the smoke has perfumed the cream. Remove the bay leaves and taste for salt.
Fold in hot-smoked salmon and half the bacon. Warm on low 3–4 minutes until fish is hot. Remove bay leaves and adjust salt.
Serve
Ladle into wide bowls with the remaining bacon, dill, chives and cracked pepper. Pilot bread or sourdough alongside.
Ladle into wide bowls with the remaining bacon, dill, chives and cracked pepper. Pilot bread or sourdough alongside.
09
Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: an ivory-gold chowder that coats the ladle, studded with orange carrot, yellow corn and coral salmon under green dill.
- Auditory: slow, thick bubbling from the pot floor.
- Olfactory: alder smoke, sweet corn, cream, leek, dill.
Look for ivory-gold chowder coating the ladle, with carrot, corn, salmon and dill. Expect slow, thick bubbling and aromas of alder smoke, corn, cream, leek and dill.

Storing it

Keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat gently on low without boiling, adding a splash of stock if it has set thick.

Troubleshooting

Curdled, broken chowder.: It boiled after the cream went in. Keep it under 90 °C from that point.
Fish disintegrated.: The salmon went in with the potatoes. Fold it in for the last four minutes only.
A scorched bottom.: Starch settled over high heat. Heavy pot, and a flat spatula across the base every few minutes.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Hot-smoked sockeye	Hot-smoked king, smoked trout or smoked black cod	Black cod is richer, with a gentler smoke
Seafood stock	Vegetable stock or low-sodium chicken broth	A clean savoury base without fishiness
Leeks	Yellow onion with scallion greens	The same sweet allium note

Scaling

Half

A 4-quart saucepan; the potatoes still take 15 minutes.

Double

A 12 to 16-quart stockpot; allow five more minutes for the potatoes.

What to serve it with

Sailor Boy pilot bread, or a sourdough boule
Oyster crackers and lemon wedges
A brown ale, or a buttery Chardonnay

Questions

Hot-smoked or cold-smoked?

Hot-smoked, always. It is fully cooked and flakes firm. Cold-smoked lox goes stringy and salty when heated.

What is pilot bread?

A dense unsalted hardtack cracker that has been a bush staple for generations. It softens in chowder without turning to mush.

Fresh salmon instead?

You lose the smoke. Cube it, simmer 3 minutes until just cooked, and add a pinch of smoked salt or smoked paprika.