Bacon & Corn Chowder

The most repeated recipe from this blog is my Shrimp & Corn Chowder. Getting Dan to eat any kind of soup doesn't happen often, but this one is requested by him quite frequently. I always change that recipe up just a little each time I make it, and I always try to make it thicker. I love a nice hearty corn chowder, and while that one is stocked with veggies and shrimp and topped with bacon, it's ever quite the "chowder" consistency I want.

So, I decided to try a whole new recipe. I found this one, that looked simple. It's much less time consuming than my go-to recipe. There's no peeling or hard boiling of potatoes, less time sautéing veggies, and a much shorter ingredient list. I changed it up a little bit to make it to my liking. It has a saltier taste due to the bacon being cooked right in the chowder, and I sautéed my onions in bacon grease. I used a mix of sweet yellow and white corn. When I make this again, I would use cream instead of half and half, and maybe play around with the types of cheese to add. I think using cream would help thicken it without using as much potato flakes as I did, and I probably wouldn't sauté my onion in the bacon grease, I would just sauté them in the butter. I also would use the bacon as a topping, not have it cook in the chowder. I like corn chowder on the sweeter side, and this was saltier from the bacon. Upon standing, this thickened up quite a bit, so I'm sure I could have used even less potato flakes than I had and it would have been great. Overall, this is a great recipe that I would use again, perhaps instead of my other recipe, but I would add in the shrimp. It's one to play around with until it's just right.

The recipe below is how I made it last night. Play around with it to make it your own. Dan added shredded rotisserie chicken to his. The only reason I didn't add shrimp was because we ate shrimp the night before for dinner.

Bacon & Corn Chowder
adapted from Twelve O Eight

6-8 slices of bacon, chopped
1 small onion, diced
2 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 tbsp. flour
4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup half & half
1 to 1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (to your liking).
4 cans whole kernel corn, drained
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried potato flakes

1. In a stockpot over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Drain all but 1 tbsp. of bacon grease and return to heat.
2. Add the butter to the grease and add the onions. Sauté until clear and then add the garlic, pepper, and flour and cook, stirring, until flour is absorbed.
3. Add the chicken stock and stir, bringing it to a slow boil.
4. Add the bacon, corn, half & half, cheese, and nutmeg and again bring to a slow boil stirring occasionally. Lower heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. If you want it thicker, add the potato flakes, a few spoonfuls at a time, and mix in. You may want to wait a few minutes in between as it does continue to thicken up.