Seafood Chowder with Lobster
The rich seafood chowder recipe — one of six “chowdahs” on the menu at Newick’s Lobster House — is such a hit that it has to be made off-site. Insiders know to ask for it with lobster.
Seafood Chowder with Lobster
Photo Credit : Kristin TeigAlready a successful lobsterman at 18, Jack Newick began buying up land around Dover Point, piece by piece, in the 1940s. More than six decades later, his one-time lobster shack, Newick’s Lobster House, is now a seafood beacon, accommodating up to 600 people at a time and promising a romantic sunset from just about any seat in the house. People make the trek from far south and west to crack open a steamed lobster or gobble up the excellent fried seafood. But the rich seafood chowder — one of six “chowdahs” on the menu — is such a hit that it has to be made off-site. You can get your chowder the “original” way, teeming with bay scallops, shrimp, clams, and haddock — but insiders know to ask for added lobster, which turns this chowder into something like a seafood tour de force.
Consider cooking and chilling the lobsters a day before preparing the seafood chowder with lobster, to make it easier to remove the meat. But be sure to reserve the cooking water, which you’ll use to simmer the potatoes.
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Yield:
10 to 15 servingsSeafood Chowder with Lobster | Newick's Lobster House in Dover, NH
Ingredients
3 small (1 pound each or less) lobsters (also called “chicken” lobsters)
4 cups plus ½ cup lobster cooking water
3 cups diced red potatoes, skins on (cut into ¼-inch cubes)
4 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 medium-size onion, cut into ¼-inch cubes
2 ribs celery, cut into ¼-inch cubes
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup bottled clam juice
2 cups light cream
1 pound bay scallops
1 pound chopped fresh clam meat, with juices
1½ pounds haddock filet, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound small (51–60 or 61–70 count) shrimp
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste
Garnish: chopped fresh parsley or paprika
Instructions
Fill a lobster pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the lobsters, cover, and reduce the heat to medium; cook 8 minutes. Remove the lobsters and set them aside to cool.
Reserve 4½ cups of the lobster water. When lobsters are cool and easy to handle, remove the meat from the claws, claw joints, and tails. Chop the meat coarsely and set aside.
Put 4 cups of the reserved lobster water in a 2- to 3-quart pot, add the potatoes, and simmer until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon, turning occasionally, until cooked but not crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a 4- to 6-quart pot over medium-low heat.
Add the onion and celery, and cook, stirring, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the bacon and cook another 3 minutes.
Add the flour gradually, whisking continuously, to make a roux.
Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and slowly whisk in the remaining ½ cup of lobster water, then the bottled clam juice and the cream.
Add the scallops, clam meat with its juices, haddock, and shrimp.
Stir in the cooked potatoes, milk, salt, and pepper.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until all the fish has cooked through and flavors have combined, about 15 minutes.
Right before serving, add the lobster meat.
Garnish with parsley or paprika.
