preparing seafood chowder in advance

[teresa]

Ok, so I am ahead of the game for a change, and am wondering how far ahead I can get. Can I make seafood chowder the day before or does it screw with the texture? I know my mom use to make salmon soup and she claimed it always tastes better the second day.

 

[kyheirloomer]

I do it all the time.

Just remember, when reheating, that low and slow is the watchword. Reheat it too quickly and it's liable to break.

 

[teresa]

would using a crock pot for reheating be ok or not?

 

[phatch]

It doesn't change the instructions given. You don't want it to boil, you don't want to heat it so long that the potatoes go mushy. It still requires attention.

And if you heat too slowly which a crockpot can do, it could be in the danger zone too long so the fish goes bad.

 

[suzanne]

If you do make ahead, just be careful that the fish doesn't overcook -- which would mess up the texture, yeah. Can you make it without the fish, and then add them when you reheat? That would solve the overcooking problem.

As for using the slow cooker -- it's better to reheat on the stovetop, then transfer to the slow cooker to keep it hot. As Phil mentioned, it can take a looooong time to come up to temperature in the slow cooker, and that could be bad. But once it's hot, that's a good way to keep it that way.

 

[cape chef]

Just to add a quick note.
Be sure to cool the chowder in an ice bath to bring down the temp rapidly.

 

[shroomgirl]

I'm with suzanne, make soup (chowder) heat and then add the seafood.....it's how I make seafood gumbo. That way you've more control over seafood texture.

 

[teresa]

Actually we really don't care for the potatoes much anyway so we prefer them as a thickener instead of using flour. I have made chowder a lot, just not in advance. I did not think about the fish overcooking when reheating. You guys are so good about this stuff. My fish will probably be overcooked then. I am so careful not to overcook the shrimp and scallops, I don't know why I did not think about that in the reheat process. The good thing is I will probably be the only one that notices it . The guests here only have fresh chowder when I cook it, otherwise they eat that awful cheap stuff from the can. I will be careful in the reheat process, thanks everyone.

Now I wish I would not have made it ahead. Live and learn

 

[suzanne]

They'll still love it, and you. And you know what? If you don't tell them, they may never notice. That's one of the best lessons I ever learned from Julia Child.

 

[teresa]

Well we had the chowder and the taco soup tonight and all the worrying over the chowder was needless. I reheated it slowly, the consistency was great and the seafood did not get overcooked. We all noticed that it was not as strong of flavor as usual and I knew that was going to happen. All the fish and seafood were as fresh as I can get in Iowa except the clams. I usually use fresh clams and I had to use canned. Not the same . Anyway it must have not been to bad, I have about a quart left out of a 12 quart pan. Thanks everyone for all the input.

 

[suzanne]

eace:

 

[mikelm]

Hey Teresa-

Where do they raise clams in Iowa?

Our son went to the U of Iowa, and we visited him a lot, but I don't remember a lot of clams.

Great town to visit, as are most university towns.

Mike

 

[teresa]

I did say as fresh as I can get. We have seafood when my brother comes from North Carolina. This year he did not come, so hence no fresh clams. I remember as a child my mom cooking mussels from the river, but they did not taste the same. We had a large family and lived primarily of the land. I have no idea if clams are raised anywhere in Iowa. I know supermarket clams smell awful as do the scallops most of the time. I think I would buy frozen over our supermart fresh.

 

[kyheirloomer]

I think I would buy frozen over our supermart fresh.

Two things to consider, Teresa.

First off, very few inland supermarkets actually sell fresh fish. Most of the time what you see in their counters is previously frozen. And, technically, it should be marked as such.

Second, nowadays, frozen fish is actually fresher than fresh fish. Unless you personally buy it off a day-boat, even along the coasts the fish you buy in a seafood market is at least four days old by the time you get it.

On the other hand, FAS fish has been caught, processed, and flash-frozen within two hours. So long as you defrost it properly, it is as good, or better, than anything you'll find masquarading as "fresh."

The only downside to buying frozen fish in the supermarket is packaging. Depending on the brand, you often don't know what's in the package. F'rinstance, we once bought a package of "cod filets." What we found was five pieces, of different sizes and shapes. So keep that in mind, too, when choosing frozen seafood.

 

[teresa]

Right. That is why it is so cool, when we go shrimping or meet the boats when they come in at my brothers. The shrimp we catch or get off the boats taste totally different than what I get even frozen

 

[coulis-o]

when making seafood chowder it is best to make the soup first and add the fish when serving

how i make it:

mirepoix - onions, leeks, celery, thyme
white roux
white wine
fish stock
lemon juice
fresh dill
seasoning

pass it, then...

add to it:

prawns, green lip muscles, calamari, diced smoked haddock, salmon flakes