Cook_s_Country_-_October_2019

SLOW COOKER

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Chicken and Corn Chowder

Layering the ingredients is key for this creamy slow-cooker chowder.

by Natalie Estrada

I LOVE CHOWDERS of all kinds,

whether they’re brimming with

briny clams or studded with sweet

corn kernels. But what is a chowder,

anyway? As it turns out, a chowder

is simply a thick soup enriched with

dairy that usually contains potatoes

and onions. Chowders typically

include a pork product for flavor and

are often thickened with a roux.

I thought I was familiar with every

kind of chowder until I heard a col-

league reminisce about a corn and

chicken version she grew up eating. It

sounded great—and perfect for mak-

ing in a slow cooker.

My colleague’s mom made her

version of the chowder with chicken

pieces, but after a few tests, I decided

to go with boneless, skinless thighs

instead. The dark-meat thighs had

lots of flavor and could handle a long

cooking time without drying out.

As for the corn, fresh is great if you

have it, but I decided to develop this

recipe using frozen corn (which we

prefer to canned) so you can make it

year-round. For aromatics, I tested

leek, onion, and shallot; the shal-

lot won out for its gentle sweetness.

Minced celery and garlic bolstered the

flavor base of the soup.

While testing potatoes, I found that

russets broke down too easily over the

long cooking time, and red potatoes

left their sloughed-off skins floating in

the soup. Yukon Gold potatoes were

perfect; they were creamy and soft but

didn’t disintegrate. For the pork, we

preferred savory salt pork to bacon,

since the bacon’s smokiness overpow-

ered the sweetness of the corn.

Now, how to thicken the chowder?

I tried making a roux of butter and

flour on the stovetop, adding broth,

and dumping it all into the slow cook-

er, but the resulting chowder turned

out grainy and lumpy. Cornstarch

made for a chowder that felt a little

slippery. It was better, I found, to pull

out some of the chowder at the end

of cooking, puree it in a blender, and

return it to the soup. The puree, along

with a good pour of heavy cream,

thickened the soup and gave it a

velvety consistency. This method left

plenty of hunks of potatoes and corn

kernels intact, ensuring a nice range of

textures in the finished chowder.

For most slow-cooker recipes, it

doesn’t matter how the ingredients are

added to the cooker. But it was impor-

tant to the success of my chowder to

place the potatoes and aromatics on

the bottom of the slow cooker, nestle

the chicken on top of them, scatter on

the corn, and then pour the broth over

everything. In this arrangement, the

chicken weighed down the potatoes,

keeping them submerged and ensuring

that they cooked evenly. Perfect.

SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN

AND CORN CHOWDER

Serves 6 to 8

It’s important to layer the ingredients

in the order listed to ensure that the

potatoes fully cook and the chicken

doesn’t dry out. If you can’t find salt

pork, you can use 2 slices of bacon.

You can substitute fresh corn kernels

for the frozen corn, if desired.

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken

thighs, trimmed

½ teaspoon table salt

1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes,

peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces

4 ounces salt pork, cut into 4 pieces

¼ cup minced celery

1 shallot, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

3 cups frozen corn

3 cups chicken broth

¾ cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels
   and sprinkle with salt. Toss potatoes,
   salt pork, celery, shallot, garlic, sugar,
   pepper, and bay leaf together in slow
   cooker; spread into even layer. Layer
   chicken over top of potato mixture to
   cover. Scatter corn over chicken. Add
   chicken broth; do not stir contents
   of slow cooker. Cover and cook until
   chicken is tender, 4 to 5 hours on high
   or 7 to 8 hours on low.


2. Discard bay leaf and salt pork.
   Transfer chicken to cutting board and
   shred into bite-size pieces with 2 forks;
   set aside.


3. Transfer 2 cups chowder to
   blender and process until smooth,
   1 to 2 minutes. Return blended chow-
   der to slow cooker.


4. Stir cream and chicken into chowder.
   Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   Serve, sprinkled with chives.

Order of Operations
For even cooking, it’s essential to layer the ingredients as shown below.

Corn on the top; broth

poured over

Chicken thighs in the middle

Potato–salt pork mixture

on the bottom

28 COOK’S COUNTRY • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

The corn adds

subtle sweetness

to this creamy,

savory chowder.