Let’s face it, as much as we’d like it to take a bow and an exit, most of us are still in the midst of winter.
It seems this has been one of the longest, coldest and just plain miserable winters we’ve seen in a long time!
I don’t know about your house, but at ours, winter means comfort food (and some of our favorite soup recipes) and this one isn’t just a favorite…it is THE favorite!
Smoked Salmon Chowder
Here’s the thing though…this Smoked Salmon Chowder isn’t even my recipe. It’s my husbands! Yep, that’s right, I’ve got a guy who likes to cook and you don’t have to tell me that I struck gold because I already know it! He made this one New Year’s Day a few years ago and I think we might have eaten the entire pot of it in one sitting.
Picture me hanging my head in shame!
Over the years he’s played around with the recipe and once he added the smoked salmon we all declared it perfect.
I mean, really, can you go wrong with chunks of smoked salmon, shrimp, potatoes and dill?
I think not!
Ingredients
- 5 bacon slices, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 lb. boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 lb. smoked salmon cut into 1 inch pieces (or fresh salmon trimmed of dark flesh)
- 1 lb. bay shrimp
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill or 1 tbsp. dried dill
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a heavy pot over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. In the same pot add onion, celery, potatoes, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is softened (appx. 5-7 minutes). Stir in water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender.
- Add milk and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender. Stir in salmon, shrimp, dill and butter and simmer until shrimp (and salmon if uncooked) is cooked through (appx. 3-4 minutes). Serve sprinkled with bacon.
- Serves 4 as a main-course
I guarantee that if you have seafood lovers in your house they will be asking for this chowder over and over again. And if you don’t have seafood lovers, well, this might just convert them! Stay warm and remember SPRING is just around the corner!
You can find more hearty soup recipes like this Creamy Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup and Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli At The Picket Fence or visit our Pinterest Recipe page for more great ideas!
Follow At The Picket Fence’s board At The Picket Fence: Recipes We Create on Pinterest.
This looks amazing – wow! Pinned! xo
We LOVE LOVE LOVE… Did I say, LOVE our Chowders. This looks and sounds Amazing! My husband loves Smoked Salmon so I can’t wait to give this one a try. Pinning!
xoxo
Did you pour off some of that grease from those five slices of bacon before you sauteed your vegetables?
Pinned. I’m so looking forward to trying this–thanks for sharing!
I just made this and it was yummy. Thank you for sharing! My hubby was skeptical as he’s not a big salmon fan (something I didn’t realize when I married him), but he said it’s a keeper. No, don’t pour off the grease from the bacon, at least not all of it. I will say it’s a bit spendy to make, with a pound each of smoked salmon and shrimp, but you could could probably use 1/2 lb of salmon and still think it’s great. I might do that next time. Even with four generous servings, we have some left over for lunch tomorrow!
(I use a trick from Food Network’s Melissa d’Arabia for cooking with bacon like this, and that’s to keep a pound of bacon in the freezer and cut it across all pieces so it’s already chopped. Use what you need and put the rest back in the freezer.)
I love smoked salmon too – I usually eat it on bagels, next time I’ll try this soup!