Published January 1, 2012. From Cook's Illustrated.
Searching for a route to fresher, cleaner flavors, we got a bonus: shorter cooking time.
Many modern chowders are so rich and creamy that they mask the flavor of the fish altogether.
We wanted to showcase moist, tender morsels of fish in a delicate, clean-tasting broth.
To ensure that our fish stayed tender, we poached cod in water flavored with salt pork, onion, and seasonings. This created an ultra-quick fish stock that would serve as our dish’s flavorful broth. We removed the fish, simmered Yukon Gold potatoes (chosen for their subtle buttery flavor) in the stock until they were tender, and returned the cod to the pot, stirring to separate it into chunks. This way, every bite of fish was perfectly tender, and the potatoes, having soaked up the savory broth, now tasted fabulous.
We also experimented with the dairy component. In the end, we used whole milk, which gave the chowder a light, fresh taste. Just a bit of cornstarch whisked into the milk before adding it to the pot prevented it from curdling as the soup simmered.
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