Cod and Potato Chowder with Bacon and Thyme
A brothy chowder built on rendered bacon and browned potato, thickened with mashed potato and coconut milk, with cod poached in at the end so it stays in big soft pieces.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Chowder is the lunch I want in February, and this is the version I make when I want it to eat like a real meal rather than a bowl of cream. It takes about fifty five minutes altogether, most of it hands off while the potatoes soften. The cod goes in at the very end and cooks in water that is barely moving, which is the part people get wrong. Fish boiled in a chowder shreds into threads and disappears into the broth. Fish poached below a simmer stays in big soft pieces you can actually see in the bowl, and that is the whole difference between a chowder and a fish soup.
The base is built from three things and none of them takes long. Bacon renders first and leaves behind fat with real smoke in it. The potatoes and carrots then brown in that fat, and browning a potato before it meets liquid is worth the extra five minutes, because it gives the finished broth a toasted, almost sweet undertone that no amount of simmering will produce on its own. Garlic-infused olive oil goes in with them and carries the aromatic note through the pot. The coconut milk waits until the potatoes are tender so it stays silky, and a small spoonful of dijon keeps the richness from settling flat.
For body, press a few potato cubes against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon and stir them back in. That is the entire thickening method, and it gives you a chowder that coats a spoon on its own terms. Leftovers are good the next day and the potatoes go softer and sweeter, though the cod is at its best the first time around. Chives and lemon go on at the table rather than in the pot, and the bacon you rendered at the start goes back on top at the end, so there is something crisp against everything else that is soft.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
- 1 1/4 lb yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup canned coconut milk, stirred smooth
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 lb cod loin, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, divided
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Render the bacon: Put the bacon pieces in a cold Dutch oven and set it over medium heat. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fat has run out and the pieces are crisp at the edges. Lift them onto a paper towel with a slotted spoon and leave about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pot.
- Brown the potatoes and carrot: Add the garlic-infused olive oil to the bacon fat and let it warm for 30 seconds. Add the potato cubes and the diced carrot with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, spread them out, and leave them alone for 4 minutes, since the gold only forms where a cut face is touching the bottom of the pot. Stir once and cook 4 minutes more, until the cut faces are patchy gold.
- Build the broth: Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot clean. Add the thyme, bay leaves, and smoked paprika, bring it to a gentle simmer, and cook uncovered for 14 to 16 minutes, until a potato cube crushes easily against the side of the pot.
- Thicken it: Press about a cup of the potato cubes against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon and stir the mash back through the broth, so the starch they release thickens the chowder without any flour. Stir in the coconut milk and the dijon mustard, then lower the heat until the surface is barely moving.
- Poach the cod: Season the cod with the remaining salt and the black pepper and lower the pieces into the pot in a single layer. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes without stirring, since a spoon through the pot now would break the fish apart, until it is opaque through and separates into thick sheets under gentle pressure, or reads 130°F (54°C) at the center. Cod held to the FDA figure of 145°F (63°C) tightens and falls apart into the broth, which is why this pot stops short of it.
- Finish and serve: Pull the bay leaves and add the lemon juice off the heat. Ladle carefully so the cod stays in pieces, then top each bowl with the crisp bacon and a good scatter of chives.
Variations
- Smoked fish: Skip the poaching step and fold flaked smoked trout or smoked salmon in off the heat for a chowder that is done in half an hour.
- Greens in the broth: Stir 3 big handfuls of chopped kale or swiss chard in with the coconut milk and let them wilt for 3 minutes before the fish goes in.
- Corn-free sweetness: Swap half the potato for diced parsnip when you want the broth sweeter and a little more perfumed.
- Shellfish version: Add 1/2 lb of cooked shrimp or crab with the cod in the last 2 minutes, just long enough to heat through.
- Spicier: Add a pinch of cayenne with the smoked paprika, or float thin jalapeno rings on each bowl at the table.
Storage & Leftovers
Chowder keeps in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Store the bacon separately in a small covered dish so it stays crisp, since it goes soft within an hour of sitting in the broth. The potatoes will keep drinking liquid, so expect a thicker pot on the second day.
Reheat gently on the stove over medium-low, stirring rarely, for about 8 minutes, and loosen it with a splash of broth or water as it warms. Stirring hard breaks the cod into shreds, and a hard boil will do the same. Add fresh chives and a squeeze of lemon to the reheated bowl.
Freezing is not the right move here. Potato goes grainy on thawing and cod turns cottony, and the coconut milk can split. If you want a head start, make the base through the thickening step and refrigerate it for up to 3 days, then bring it back to a bare simmer and poach fresh fish in it.
Notes & Tips
- Start the bacon cold: Bacon put into a cold pot renders slowly and gives up more fat, which is the cooking medium for everything that follows. A hot pot burns the edges before the fat is out.
- Brown the potatoes, do not just boil them: Four undisturbed minutes on each side gives the broth a toasted sweetness. This is the step that separates this from a pot of boiled potato and fish.
- Mash a cup of it: Crushing some of the cooked potato against the side of the pot is the thickener. Do it before the coconut milk goes in so you can see how thick the broth is getting.
- Coconut milk goes in late: Boiled hard or added early, it can split and go grainy. Stir it in after the potatoes are tender and keep the pot below a simmer from then on.
- Cut the cod big: Inch and a half pieces survive the poach. Small pieces overcook in a minute and end up as threads in the broth.
- Bacon on top at the end: Fold it in and it goes limp within minutes. Scattered over each bowl at the table, it stays crisp against the soft potato.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Cod, potato, and a little bacon do different jobs in this bowl. The fish is the substance, the potato brings the body and the starch that thickens everything, and the bacon carries smoke through the pot without taking it over.
- Cod is mild and close-grained and cooks into wide white pieces if you keep the pot below a simmer, and it brings protein along with iodine and selenium, two minerals white fish is one of the better sources of.
- Yukon gold potatoes are waxy enough to hold their cubes and starchy enough to thicken what they are cooked in, and their skins carry potassium and fiber, which is a good reason to scrub them rather than peel them.
- Rendering the bacon first is a flavor decision more than anything else. The fat it leaves behind is what the potatoes and carrots brown in, and its smoke runs through every spoonful of the finished broth.
- Thyme goes in early and stays woody and warm through the simmer, while the lemon juice and chives land at the very end. Between them, a chowder this rich still tastes light on the spoon.
- As you eat, watch for the moment a piece of cod gives way into sheets against your spoon, and let the warmth of the bowl set the pace so the meal is something you sit down for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different fish?
Yes. Haddock, pollock, and halibut all poach the same way at the same weight. Halibut is firmer and holds in thick sheets, while haddock is softer and wants a minute less. Cut whatever you buy into pieces of the same size so they finish together.
My cod fell apart into the broth. What went wrong?
The pot was too hot or the fish was stirred. Cod is delicate enough that a real simmer will shake it apart, so drop the heat until the surface is only shivering before the fish goes in, put the lid on, and leave it alone until it is opaque.
Can I make it dairy-free and still creamy?
It already is. The body comes from mashed potato and canned coconut milk rather than cream, and the coconut goes in after the potatoes are tender so it stays smooth. Stir the can well before you measure, since the fat separates and sits at the top.
Does this fit a low-FODMAP lunch?
It does. The savory base is rendered bacon, potatoes browned in that fat, thyme, and garlic-infused olive oil, which is plenty to carry the pot. A cup of coconut milk across four servings sits in the well-tolerated range, and potatoes at this weight are comfortable for most people.