Everywhere you look in the media, salmon (as well as other fish) are being baked, roasted and cured in a bed of salt alone. To me, it always lacked something. Then it hit me. Why not prepare salmon using another New England ingredient – Yankee Cured Salmon Chowder.
This Yankee cure mixes salty and sweet, with the resulting salmon perfect for whatever you want to do, including this original New England chowder.
The addition of other Yankee ingredients in this soup not only reminds you of the Northeast, but they blend so well with the flavor of salmon.
By the way, to spare some expense, you can substitute canned salmon. Make sure you pick out all the bones and skin first, then add at the very end.
Note: prep time includes time for curing the salmon.
Ingredients
- 2 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless salmon fillets
- 3/4 cup coarse salt
- 3/4 cups maple syrup
- Pinch black pepper
- 2 slices bacon, diced small
- 1/2 small red onion, diced small
- 2 (medium-size) red potatoes, cooked and diced
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup whole kernel corn
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- To taste salt and pepper
Preparation
- 1 In a small bowl, combine coarse salt, maple syrup and black pepper. Coat both fillets and pack well. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Remove from fridge and rinse under cold running water well.
- 2 Place on greased or parchment lined baking tray and roast at 350-degrees F until just done, 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
- 3 Meanwhile, sauté bacon over medium-high heat in a deep saucepan until done but not crisp. Add onions, cook and stir another 2 minutes. Add potatoes, peas, corn, broth and heavy cream. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to scalding, stirring frequently.
- 4 Chop salmon into bite-sized pieces and gently stir into chowder. Season to taste and add another tablespoon butter to melt into chowder if desired.
- 5 If you desire thicker chowder, simply melt 3 tablespoons butter and whisk in 2 tablespoons flour until smooth. Stir this into the chowder before adding salmon. Serve hot with a cornbread wedge.
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