Dixie's Maine Seafood Chowdah (i.e., Chowder)

As seen in Season 2 Episode 12, “Family’s Empty Nest”

Servings: Ridiculous amounts of people!!

This is the oft-requested Seafood Chowder recipe Dixie makes for the crew. In the episode, Dixie says “It’s just a real simple recipe. The ingredients are pretty basic. There’s not a lot of seasoning, maybe a little salt and pepper. Other than that it’s just the delicious taste of all the seafood.” Always use the freshest seafood you can. If fresh seafood isn’t available you can, for example, use better canned clams that have been drained, or cook raw shrimp that’s been frozen but not cooked yet. Maine rock shrimp is preferable when it’s available, make sure to use butter and not margarine, and the creamier the milk, the better.

Ingredients

Ingredients – Full Batch, Dixie Style

8 Tbsp Butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup water
3 slices thick-cut salt pork or bacon
1 medium yellow onion
6 medium Russet potatoes
1 16oz can clam juice
1 lb clams
1 lb crab meat
1 lb lobster meat, cooked and cleaned
1 lb scallops
1 lb haddock
1 lb shrimp, small, cooked
1/2 gallon half-and-half or whole milk
2 bay leaves
Oyster crackers (for serving)

Ingredients – Quarter Batch

2 Tbsp butter (1/4 stick)
3 Tbsp water
1 slice thick-cut salt pork or bacon
1/4 medium or 1/2 small yellow onion
2 medium Russet potatoes
4 fl oz clam juice
4 oz clams
4 oz crab meat
4 oz lobster meat, cooked and cleaned
4 oz scallops
4 oz haddock
4 oz shrimp, small, cooked
1 pint half-and-half or whole milk
1 bay leaf
Oyster crackers (for serving)

Instructions

Chop the onion. Peel and dice the potatoes to uniform size, about 1/2 inch cubes. In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add salt pork or bacon. Add the chopped onion, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add the water, clam juice, bay leaf, and potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.
Chop the clams, then add the clams, crab, lobster meat, and shrimp to the pot. In a separate small pot, scald the milk but do not bring to a boil. Then add the scalded milk to the large stock pot. Stir minimally, then add the scallops and place the haddock on the top. Let simmer for 1 hour, stirring minimally, and do not let boil. (You may need to add more milk or half and half due to large amounts of seafood.)
Serve the chowdah with oyster crackers.