There are a few dishes that I make to kick off the season of vibrant gold, red, and orange leaves, breaking out scarves and light coats, and making scarecrows — and this chicken-corn-bacon-potato chowder is one of them. Not too thick and not soupy, flavorful and hearty, this will become a family favorite as it is also very easy to make!
Serves: 3-4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: about 35 minutes (or about an hour if you are simmering for bone broth first)
Notes:
- Squash, Zuccini, and other Late-Summer/Autumn vegetables are not listed ingredients for this recipe but these are also great in this chowder! Just dice them and include them in Step 4 as they easily overcook.
- This recipe calls for fresh corn but if you don’t have that on hand canned or frozen sweet corn is perfectly fine as long as your other veggies are fresh for best flavor and nutrition.
- This chowder makes for delicious leftovers! Just add a little water or chicken broth when you reheat to revive. I actually like it also in its thicker state from refrigeration and top it over white rice. You also can use it as a base for chicken pot pie (with a bacon twist) filling!
Ingredients:
- 3 or 4 small chicken thighs with the bone (with skin preferred for more flavor but skinless is fine)
- 1/2 chicken bone broth (decrease this to 1/4 cup if you are simmering bone broth from the chicken thighs beforehand)
- 3 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil (i.e. avocado oil or vegetable oil)
- 1/4 cup diced onions
- 1 cup of sliced celery
- 1 cup of sliced carrots
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh corn (cut from the cob)
- 2 large Idaho potatoes, skinned and diced to about 1/2 inch cubes
- about 3-5 slices of bacon, diced into 1/2 inch long pieces (depending on thickness; less if thicker)
- 3 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch with equal parts water stirred into a slurry mixture
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/16 teaspoon (yes, tiny amount) thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- optional: pinch of cayenne pepper if you want some substantial heat to it
- optional: few chopped sprigs of thyme and scallions for garnishing and little extra pop of flavor
Steps:
- take a large pot and put the oil into it and set heat on medium-high or high (depending on whether or not your stove has in-between settings). As soon as the oil ripples, turn heat down to medium-low or medium and toss in your bacon, onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Let sit for about one minute.
- Once at least the onions in the pot is mostly golden brown, add your chicken thighs skin-side up. Add in a tiny bit of your salt and pepper and reserve the rest of the salt and pepper for a later step. Move on to step 3. Note: If you are wanting to get some bone broth out of these chicken thighs, this is where you’d add the 3 cups of water and the chicken bone broth and boil with the lid on the pot for about an hour — removing the chicken fat that floats to the top, every now and then. Once the water has evaporated to about half its original level in the pot, pour in the 1/4 cup of chicken broth and then move to step 5.
- Turn heat back up to medium-high or high. Add all of your dry seasonings — garlic powder, thyme, etc. — but reserve red pepper flakes and bay leaf for a later step. With a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir just enough that ingredients incorporate a little and do not stick to the bottom of the pot. This will take just a minute.
- Add your corn, the rest of your dry ingredients, your reserved salt and pepper, and your water into the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and boil for about 30-35 minutes.
- Turn heat off and remove lid from pot. Remove chicken from pot onto a cutting board and shred the chicken from the bone. Slowly pour, a little at a time, your flour/cornstarch-water slurry while stirring steadily until your chowder thickens to your liking (make a little more slurry and repeat this step if you want it thicker). Throw away the chicken bones and put shredded chicken back into the pot.
- Ladle chowder into bowls and top with fresh thyme and scallions and a little sprinkling of black pepper, if you wish. Serve and enjoy!