Rich and creamy roasted sweet corn chowder, simmered with sherry (or beer!) chunks of chicken, red bell pepper, potatoes and cheese, delicious served with a crusty bread loaf for dipping.
A great way to use up sweet corn
Sweet corn harvest is undoubtedly one of the best times of the year, especially if you live in the Midwest. Grilled right on the cob, is one of the best ways to eat it, and this chowder incorporates that. The best part about this recipe, is that it calls for corn to be roasted right on the cob, before slicing if off right into the soup, adding a smoky layer of flavor. It's so thick and cheesy--honestly its almost a dip. It's amazing. But we put chicken in it, and call it soup so that we can eat it for dinner.
You'll want to bake 2-3 chicken breasts first, and toss it in at the end so that it doesn't become tough. You could also opt for a rotisserie chicken, cut into pieces.
How to make it from scratch
Start by prepping your veggies. That means mincing the onion and garlic, and dicing the potatoes and red bell pepper. You'll also want to get your corn prepared. Some of the corn in this recipe gets a quick toast (on the cob) in a dry, hot pan until some of the kernels become blackened. You'll like this extra flavor it adds to the chowder. Just use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob and into the soup.
In a heavy pot, saute the onion and garlic in some butter. Add the diced potatoes to give them a head start in the cooking process. Toss in the red bell pepper.
De-glaze the pot with sherry, or beer. This also gives a nice richness to the soup that you'll not soon forget. Add the chicken stock and all the corn (you can use frozen, cut off the cob, or canned drained along with one can of creamed style) and simmer on medium high heat until the potatoes are fork tender. Some of the liquid will have reduced, which is a good thing.
Once the potatoes have softened, reduce the heat to medium low. Add the shredded cheddar cheese, chicken pieces, and heavy cream. Give it a good stir and simmer on medium low until everything is creamy and melted.
How to thicken it
For this recipe, the starch in the potatoes, and the creamed corn, along with the cream and cheese is enough to thicken the chowder quite a bit. But, if you are looking to thicken it even more then whisk a couple of tablespoons of corn starch or flour into a half cup of water until smooth before whisking into the soup. Flour usually requires twice the amount of cornstarch. Whisking it into water first until smooth ensures that you don't get lumps when you add it to the soup. Remove the pot from the burner just to whisk in the thickener, so that it is not bubbling until it's all the way mixed in.
Keep the chowder on low to medium heat to finish the cooking process. If you turn up the heat too high the dairies can break down, resulting in a curdled appearance which is not harmful to eat, but you'll have white flecks in your soup.
Serve with a crusty pieces of bread to scrape up all that thick and rich chowder goodness!
For more delicious chowders and creamy soups, try:
And don't forget to make a loaf of Homemade French Bread with this easy to follow recipe.
Chicken Cheese Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 2-3 cooked chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
- 3-4 ears corn
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large red orange or yellow sweet pepper (diced)
- 4 large russet potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 ½ cups frozen sweet corn or canned, drained
- 15 oz can of creamed corn
- ½ cup sherry can substitute beer
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded off block
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat a cast iron skillet to medium high heat, do not use oil. Lay corn cobs in skillet, turning occasionally until kernels start to develop a deep brown color, some almost blackened. Remove from heat and cool before slicing off the cob.
- In a large pot saute one minced onion, 4 minced cloves garlic and diced red bell pepper with 4 tablespoons butter until softened.
- Add diced potatoes and saute for 3-5 minutes to give them a head start at softening.
- Pour in sherry/beer, and simmer down for 5 minutes.
- Add 32 oz of chicken stock, 1 ½ cups frozen corn (or drained canned), can of creamed corn and the blackened corn kernels sliced off the cobs. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Reduce heat to low. Add 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup heavy cream, and the chicken pieces, and simmer on low until smooth, melted and heated through.
Notes
- bake or otherwise cook chicken breast through prior to making soup
- can substitute sherry for beer, white wine, or extra stock or broth
- can substitute canned corn for frozen, but drain first
- to thicken soup even more, whisk 2 tablespoons of corn starch, or 4 tablespoons of all purpose flour into about a half cup water until smooth. Whisk into chowder and simmer on low until thickened and flour taste is no longer detectable
Nutrition
David says
Delicious and a great way to use sweet corn!