Lobster Corn Chowder

I figured my last post was long enough without the details of the chowder making, but for those of you who may be interested in trying it, and because I went to the trouble of taking pictures of the process, here it is.

NOTE:  Please do yourself a favor and call ahead to your favorite seafood mart and order your lobster(s) COOKED.  Amen.  (Just be sure to get him still in his shell because you will need the shell for the stock.)

I used this recipe, but I only used one lobster and I halved the rest of the ingredients.  It was really only enough chowder for two adults, but we managed to spread it among the five of us.  It would have been a perfect meal for two with artisan bread and a salad.  Or it would make a nice appetizer for a fancy dinner party.

So.  Once you have your THOROUGHLY COOKED lobster, you will want to separate the meat from the shell, reserving the shells for the stock, and discarding the body.

Then it’s time for the corn.

Ideally, fresh corn would be in season, but I bought frozen corn on the cob.  I cooked it just enough so that I could cut the corn off the cob, but not until it was thoroughly cooked and mushy.  Reserve the corn cobs for the stock, and set the corn kernels aside for the soup.

There are two parts to this recipe — the stock and the soup.  They will be combined at the very end.

Now it’s time to start the stock.  Chop an onion, and saute half of it in butter a Dutch oven.  (Save the other half for the soup.)

Next comes the good part.

Yes, ma’am.

Pour some cream sherry and paprika into the pot with the onions and simmer for a minute while allowing the aroma to penetrate your senses.  Ahhhhh….

Add the milk, cream, wine, lobster shells and their juices, and the corn cobs, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile dice up some bacon.  Oh yeah, baby!  Brown the bacon until it’s crispy and delicious.  While that’s cooking, chop up your veggies.

Once the bacon is crispy and brown, remove it from the pan and save it for later.  Then add the veggies to the bacon fat and saute gently.

I didn’t add the corn at this point because I had already cooked it and I didn’t want it to be mushy.  But if you’re using fresh, you’d want to throw that in here too.

When the stock is done, remove the shells and corn cobs to the trash, and pour through a sieve into the pot of veggies.

After that simmered for a bit and the veggies are nice and soft, add the lobster meat and corn if you haven’t already.  Garnish with chives and bacon.  (I used parsley because I don’t grow chives.  And also, I put the bacon right in the soup, but I think it would be better as a garnish.)

Serve and enjoy!

This post has been submitted to Real Food Wednesday and Tasty Tuesday.