Superior South Shore Whitefish Chowder

My favorite spot on Earth is located on the South Shore of Lake Superior...a little town called Cornucopia where everywhere is walking distance.  My friends the Halvorsons run a family fishing operation...one of the few successful ones left on the Great Lakes.   The Village Inn, a bar/supper club/B&B on the corner of US 13 and County C, serves a whitefish chowder with Halvorson's fresh catch that's out of this world.  Their recipe is a closely guarded secret.  This is not their recipe, but I've come up with one that's *almost* as delicious.

Whitefish is available on Lakes Michigan and Superior.  I really don't know about the rest of the Great Lakes as I haven't traveled them, but if you can't get Whitefish, I'm told by displaced Wisconsinites that Tilapia makes a fair substitute.   Good any time of the year, nothing soothes the soul like a bowl of Whitefish Chowder.  I would imagine that Black Bass would work well in this recipe as well.  Many of you fisherman who are grudgingly accepting the Black Bass that are displacing Walleye in Wisconsin lakes might find that many Whitefish recipes work well with Black Bass...and you may come to appreciate this maligned fish.

1 lb. Whitefish (or Tilapia, Black Bass) fillets (about 2 12-14 inch Whitefish fillets, you'll have to judge other fish for yourself)
3-4 strips of bacon, or 1/4 cup of diced salt pork
2 stalks of celery
2-3 red potatoes
1 medium onion
1 heaping T minced garlic
2 bay leaves
3 cups water
2 cups milk
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup of corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
1 1/2 tsp Salt
Old Bay (or other crab/seafood) seasoning
Black Pepper

Skin the Whitefish fillets and remove the belly fat along the bottom of the fillet with a sharp knife...discard skin and belly fat.  Simmer the fillets in a stockpot along with the 3 cups of water and the Salt for about 10 minutes, til the fish is done.  If you have trouble removing the skin and belly fat before this step, you can remove the fish and pick out the skin and belly at this time.  Break up the cooked flesh and return into the stockpot with the water and leave on a very low simmer.

Slice up the bacon or salt pork into small pieces.  Cook the bacon in a skillet til it starts to brown.  Dice the potatoes (leave the skin on), celery and onion.  Add to the bacon along with the minced garlic, 2 bay leaves and some Old Bay seaoning.  Simmer and stir til vegetables are soft.   Add the contents of the skillet to the fish and broth in the stockpot.  Add the corn and 1 cup of milk, simmer for 25 minutes on low-med heat.  DO NOT let this chowder boil at any time.  Just simmer.

After 25 minutes, prepare a roux* out of the half stick of butter and the 1/4 cup of flour and add to the chowder along with another cup of milk.  Season with black pepper and Old Bay to taste, stir slowly and constantly til it thickens to a satisfactory thickness, about 10 - 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve, or set aside...because like all good stews, soups and chowders, the longer they sit, the better they taste!!!   Serve with oyster crackers and cold beer, then picture yourself in a quaint little bar full of friendly and colorful people on the South Shore of the Greatest of Lakes.

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*Roux...  It's not a clever trick to fool those who might sample your Chowder early....that's a Ruse.  To prepare a Roux, prepare equal amounts of butter and flour.  Melt the butter on low heat and then slowly add in the equal amount of flour a little at a time, stirring constantly, making sure not to burn it.  When it's all melted and stirred in, remove from heat at once and add to the chowder.  This can be used to thicken any sort of chowder, stew or gravy.