| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 8 ears corn, husks and silks removed
- 2 quarts water, or more if needed
- 4 cups chicken stock, low-sodium
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped garlic cloves
- 1 Anaheim pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro stems
- 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 2 cups red potatoes, peeled and diced (1/2-inch)
- 4 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 Anaheim pepper, small dice
- 1/4 cup diced poblano peppers
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup diced bacon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly minced cilantro leaves
- Chipotle Cream, recipe follows
- Spicy Saltines, recipes follows
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons chipotle paste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lime, zested, plus 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon hot paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 sleeve saltine crackers, unsalted (about 30)
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Put the corn on the grill and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning as needed to evenly brown. Remove the corn from the grill and when cool enough to handle, then put corn, stem down in a large bowl and with a sharp knife, remove the kernels, set aside.
- Put the corn cobs into a large stock pot, add the water, chicken stock, salt, pepper, garlic, peppers, cilantro stems, shallots and celery. Put the pot over high heat and bring it to a strong boil. Cook for 45 minutes, then strain the solids. Cool.
- In a medium saucepan, cover the diced potatoes with 3 cups of the cooled stock and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. then remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add the 4 tablespoons of butter, and once melted, add the diced onions, half of the corn kernels and the peppers. Saute until a golden fond starts to form on bottom of pan, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, stirring frequently. Stir in 3 cups of the stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool the mixture for about 5 minutes, then carefully add it to a blender and puree.
- Wipe the stock pot clean, put it over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, then drain on a paper towel lined plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the bacon fat, along with the remaining corn. Season with the salt and pepper and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock and potatoes and combine well. Stir in the heavy cream, add the corn puree mixture. Heat through and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- Serve garnished with the cilantro and a dollop of the Chipotle Cream and Spicy Saltines.
- In a small glass bowl, add the cream and beat with an electric mixer until stiff, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chipotle, salt and pepper, to taste, zest and lime juice beat until incorporated. Add the cilantro and season with salt, if necessary. Refrigerate covered until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Fit a baking sheet with a rack.
- Combine all of the spices in a small bowl and mix well. In a separate small bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the spices and beat until incorporated.
- Spread about 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture gently onto each cracker and set them on the rack in the baking sheet. Once all are done, bake for 5 minutes. Remove and cool. Store in an air tight container.
Reviews
Really enjoyed this soup, both making it and eating it. It took some time but we planned it for a Sunday afternoon. Made it exactly as written and definitely will make again. May purée with the potatoes next time for a fully creamy soup
This chowder was amazing, and while it does have a few steps, its not too bad. For those that said not good enough for the time, you did it wrong. Decided to add blue crab to have the soup as option. Will make this again for sure!
WORTH THE EFFORT;
Didn’t have corn on the cob, roasted frozen corn. Made the stock with 8 cups of stock no water. Used a jalapeño instead of Anaheim pepper. Great way to spend a fall afternoon. All of the pieces make it (crackers and cream).
Didn’t have corn on the cob, roasted frozen corn. Made the stock with 8 cups of stock no water. Used a jalapeño instead of Anaheim pepper. Great way to spend a fall afternoon. All of the pieces make it (crackers and cream).
Really good. A lot of steps but delicious in the end. A keeper for sure just make sure you have time.
This is an amazing corn chowder and worth every step and every ingredient. Everyone seems to want to take short cuts – wheat’s wrong with taking your time and putting some love into a big pot of corn chowder? Again…wouldn’t change (or complain) about a thing!
the amount of ingredients is ridiculous, more isn’t better
My family loved it! I only used 6 ears of corn. I would say 4 – 6 is perfect. Also, didn’t bother making the broth with the cobs. Be ready for the spice if you get medium chiles or hotter!
This recipe is okay but for all the work that goes into it, it should be a lot better. WAY too much work. I did it in steps over several nights since we’d be eating at 10pm if I had to make the whole thing after I got home from work. There has to be an easier recipe for corn chowder out there. I threw out my printed recipe for this since I know I’ll never be making again.
It was a lot of work making this recipe! but the end result was worth it. I didn’t make the saltine crackers (i fried some corn tortilla strips. I halved the recipe and still had some leftover. I also had 6 ears of corn so i used them all and i am glad i did because i think the soup had the right amount of veggies with the extra corn. I also added a bit of extra peppers since i had them. will definitely make this again, but in steps!
Adding to my first review: I have made this soup a few times now and making it in steps is the way to go! When I make the corn broth & make a lot & freeze it for future soups. That really cuts down on the work. I also grow poblanos in my garden and I am always grilling them, peeling them & freezing them so I just grab some from the freezer when I need them. Be careful with the poblanos though, you just never know who hot they can get!
I tried this recipe tonight – this is probably one of the most complicated recipes I’ve ever attempted, so I was a little worried about how it would turn out.
Pretty good, as it turns out. I took a couple of short cuts (I bought vegetable stock, and I cooked the bacon while the puree mixture was simmering – one more thing to wash at that point didn’t seem like a big deal but otherwise cooked the soup as described (albeit without the crackers and chipotle cream. It’s a little “soupier” than I would have liked, but otherwise the flavors are spot on. Using a little less stock next time and adding a little salt to the puree and I think this will a keeper, although not a weekly recipe just due to the time involved.
Minor note – the recipe doesn’t actually tell you when to add the bacon after you’re done cooking and draining it. I threw it in with the puree mixture at the end, and I doubt it really matters, but that should be clearer.