New England Fish Chowder

5 from 8 votes

This classic fish chowder is a New England staple. It’s creamy but not too thick, loaded with lots of fresh cod, potatoes, and of course, bacon!

Prep Time25

Cook Time45

Total Time1 10

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American, New England

Servings: servings

Cook bacon in a large, dry pot over medium heat until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the pot, setting aside in a separate bowl. Drain the fat from the pot, leaving the drippings.
Add butter and let melt. Then add celery, onion, and garlic to the pot. Sauté veggies for 3-4 minutes over medium heat until fragrant.
Turn off heat, peel potatoes, and then dice them into ½ inch cubes.
Add diced potatoes to the pot, and the clam juice, and bay leaves.
Cover, and gently boil for 5-10 minutes until potatoes are just tender, stirring once.
Add cream, large cod chunks, and crispy bacon. Stir.
Cover and bring to a very gentle simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the cod is opaque and flaky.
Carefully remove the bay leaves without pulling apart the fish too much, and season with salt and pepper.
Gently stir and serve right away!

You can use cod fillets or loins, whichever is fresher.
Cut the cod into large chunks. As the cod cooks, it will start to flake and fall apart into smaller pieces.
Peel and cut the potatoes last minute, so they don’t turn brown!
Bar Harbor brand (3, 8 ounce bottles) is the my favorite clam juice. This is not an ad.
Don’t use milk or half-and-half, as it can curdle when heated. While this chowder is not super thick, if you prefer a thinner chowder, use more clam juice and less heavy cream.
Some prefer salt cod (which is meaty and salty) instead of bacon (which is meaty, salty, and smoky). Feel free to use salt cod if preferred.