Lobstah Chowdah

Are you ready for Halloween? Have you been watching some scary movies? Has anyone tried to scare you yet? When I made the stock for this soup, I think it looked pretty scary. My oldest suggested I should take a photo of the stock and show you. Don't worry-I decided not to try to scare you until the end of this post. Just remember, I tried to warn you. You may not want to scroll past the third photo.

I will admit the soup is delicious. It isn't overbearing with a strong lobster taste. It is creamy with potatoes and lobster meat. My husband had ordered it at a restaurant once and came home to tell me all about it. Yes, he liked it that much. Then he asked me if I could try making it for him. After I made it for him, he told me that my "chowdah" was better than the one he had at the restaurant. He knows how to say the sweetest things. I have made this for him several times now and wanted to share it with you.

Lobster Chowder
2 whole lobsters, cooked with shell
Stock:
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup leeks, chopped
1/4 cups cream sherry
2 tsp paprika
3 cups skim milk
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup white wine
Soup:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb. bacon, large diced
2 cups Yukon gold potatoes, large diced
1 1/2 cups yellow onions, chopped
2 cups celery, diced
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp fresh chives, chopped
1/4 cup cream sherry

Directions:

1. Remove the meat from the shells of the lobster in a large bowl. Reserve the meat and the shells with the juices in the bowl. (Keep everything except for the tomalley.)
2. Cut the meat into large cubes and place them in a small bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
3. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter.
4. Add the onion to the melted butter and cook over medium low heat for 7 minutes until translucent. Stir occasionally.
5. Add the sherry and paprika to the pot. Cook for 1 minute.
6. Add the milk, cream, wine, lobster shells, and the lobster juices to the pot.
7. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Once, it reaches a simmer cover the pot partially and lower the heat to low for 30 minutes.
8. Allow the mixture to cool before pouring the liquid through a strainer into a large bowl. Discard the lobster shell. (At this time, the stock liquid can be cooled and placed in the refrigerator overnight to make the chowder the next day.)
9. To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. 
10. Add the bacon to the pot and cook over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp.
11. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool.
12. Add the potatoes, onions, celery, salt, and pepper to the pot. Saute for 5 minutes.
13. Add the lobster stock to the potato mixture. Simmer the chowder over 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. (Add about 15 minutes more if the stock had been stored overnight.)
14. Add the cooked lobster, chives, and sherry to the chowder. Heat gently and season to taste.
15. Serve the chowder hot garnished with the crisp bacon and chives.

Recipe adapted from Food Network's Barefoot Contessa.

Did you already know.....
-The green stuff in the raw lobster is the tomalley.
-The tomalley is the lobster's liver, pancreas and intestines.
-In 2008, the U.S. FDA recommended not to eat the tomalley since it may have accumulate contaminants from the environment.

Lobster Stock simmering