Bourbon Sweet Corn and Smoked Trout Chowder

Wednesday night’s dinner was simply divine.

On a cool winter evening, I settled down in the Storybook House’s kitchen and made a delightful Bourbon Sweet Corn and Smoked Trout Chowder. We adapted a recipe from a cookbook called The National Parks Cookbook.

This recipe celebrated Grand Teton National Park.

FOR CHOWDER

3 tablespoons butter

1 yellow onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 cup corn kernels, thawed if frozen

1/2 cup bourbon

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups seafood stock (see below)

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more as needed

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream (we used light cream)

8 ounces smoked trout, crumbled

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill, plus more for garnishing

For the seafood stock:

I like to make my own seafood stock. In this case I used about a dozen shrimp, I put the shells into a quart of water with a diced carrots, diced celery stock, half a diced onion, and some fresh ground black pepper, but if you have some peppercorns that would be good too. I simmer this for about an hour. I set the shrimp aside in the fridge to add to the chowder, even though it wasn’t part of the recipe. It added a nice little highlight.

For the creme:

4 ounces (115 g) crème fraiche (we used sour cream)

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh chives

Zest from 1 lemon

Pinch of ground black pepper

For the fish:

Since I did not have access to smoke trout, I took two pieces of haddock, and put them on the right side of my grill on a sheet of aluminum foil. I can put some applewood chips on the left side of my grill over the burner in a wood chip box, and turn the heat on medium high. I smoked a fish for about an hour and a half.

To make the chowder:

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the corn and bourbon, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid has mostly evaporated, then add the broth and stock, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally and reducing the heat, as needed, to maintain a simmer. If you used shrimp shells to make the stock, cut up the shrimp and add now. Pour in the cream, add the trout and dill, and cook for about 5 minutes until warmed through. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve the chowder with a drizzle of dill creme fraiche and a sprinkle of fresh dill on top.

To make the dill creme fraiche: In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients until smooth and well blended. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with a slice of toasted garlic bread.