Nebraskaland

MARCH 2015 • NEBRASKAland 33 Clam & Fish Chowder Clam and Fish "Try Pots" Chowder, inspired by the novel Moby Dick Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes Ingredients: ● 4 slices of thick-cut bacon, chopped ● 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups) ● ½ cup dry white wine, like chardonnay ● 2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes ● 2 celery ribs, diced ● 1 bay leaf ● 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme ● 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt ● 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper ● 1/4 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning ● 2 (10 ounce) cans of whole baby clams ● 1/2 pound of firm white fleshed fish fillets, cubed into bite size pieces ● 2 cups heavy cream ● 4 to 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (optional) ● 3 tablespoons of corn starch ● 2 tablespoons of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped ● 2 ears of sweet corn, lightly roasted over the grill or broiled, and sliced off the cob ● Crusty bread 1. In a Dutch oven, or large pot, render bacon and then drain on papers towels. Over medium-high heat, add chopped onion to the bacon grease and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add ½-cup of dry white wine and reduce by half. Then add diced potatoes and celery. 2. Add the juice from the canned clams to the pot. Add water if vegetables are not covered. Then add Old Bay, bay leaf, thyme, salt and ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, and then lower heat to medium and cook covered until potatoes and celery are nearly tender, about 10-15 minutes. 3. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until steamy, but not boiling. Whisk in corn starch and then stir cream mixture into the chowder pot; keep chowder at a simmer. Next, add the fish pieces, half of the bacon pieces and clams. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and chowder reaches desired thickness. (Use larger, firmer fillets from fish like wiper, walleye, catfish or paddle fish – meat from smaller fish like crappie and bluegill are too delicate.) 4. Mix in butter, if desired, to make chowder richer. Stir in fresh chopped parsley and roasted corn. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish chowder with bacon bits before serving. Serve with crusty bread and the rest of the chilled chardonnay. See Rainbow Trout Stuffed with Clementine and more fish recipes. S w f How to Clean Panfish Filleting a Panfish Most people like to eat fish filleted. When filleting panfish, meat is removed from the skin and bones on both sides of the fish to get two pieces of meat. You can do anything with fillets – deep fry, pan fry, bake or cut them into pieces to put into fish chowder. Step 1. With a sharp fillet knife, make a long cut behind the gill cover and pectoral fin until you hit the vertebrae. Then using the sharp point of your knife, open up the fish's back by closely cutting along the dorsal fin. Step 2. When the blade is level with the vent (anus), cut through to the other side of the fish and continue to cut until you reach the tail fin, but leave the skin at the end attached. Step 3. Then continue to fillet the meat from the vertebrae, being careful not to cut through any bones. Follow the contours of the ribs and cut through the skin along the anal fin. Step 4. Next, flip the flap of meat over. Using the attached skin near the tail fin as an anchor, fillet the meat from the skin. Check fillet for bones, rinse with cold water, keep cold and repeat on the other side of the fish. Gutting a Whole Fish Some fish, such as smaller trout, are better left whole. Trout have small pin bones that are time-consuming to remove if filleted. You can remove them with tweezers on bigger trout, but it's not worth it on pan size trout. Step 1. Remove scales by scraping the back of a knife against the fish's skin. Although not necessary, I like to scale trout for frying or grilling to achieve edible, crispy skin. Step 2. Then turn the fish over on its back. Slice the jaw on both sides and free the gills, but do not completely cut them off the trout. Step 3. Cut through the abdomen starting from underneath the jaw to the anus. Then grab the loose jaw and gills and pull the innards out. Step 4. Scrape out the bloodline along the spine with your thumb. Rinse trout under cold water. ■

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