Oyster Chowder

By Amanda Hesser

Updated May 1, 2024

Oyster Chowder
Chris Callis for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brian Preston-Campbell.
Total Time
About 30 minutes
Rating
4(248)
Comments
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This oyster chowder was one of Amanda Hesser’s grandmother’s standbys, a recipe untouched over generations and passed along to The Times in 2005. If you have oysters, the rest is fairly straight-forward: Bacon adds smokiness, while milk and potatoes lend creaminess. And, as if that weren’t appealing enough, the whole thing is ready in 30 minutes or less.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ¼pound bacon, cut into ¼-inch strips
  • 1cup chopped onion
  • 1cup chopped celery hearts
  • 3white potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
  • 14 to 16large oysters and their liquor
  • Salt
  • Cayenne pepper
  • ⅔ to 1cup milk
  • 1tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Spread bacon in a soup pan and place over medium heat. Cook until browned and its fat has rendered. Drain. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat and put pan back on the heat. Scrape the onion and celery into the pan and saute until softened. Drop in the potatoes. Add enough water to cover, about 3 cups. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Take the pan off the heat and, using a masher, lightly crush the potatoes to thicken the chowder. Add the oysters and oyster liquor and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper. Simmer until the oysters curl, about 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Pour in the milk (use ⅔ cup if you prefer it less rich), bring to a boil, then shut off the heat. Crumble in the bacon and stir in the parsley.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
248 user ratings
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Comments

Katharine

It was missing something. I added about 1/2 cup of cream and it was greatly improved.

Nancy

Like the previous cook, I thought this benefitted from a half-cup of heavy cream, and I also added about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. It's a terrific recipe, the first one that has motivated me to save it in your online recipe box.

Steve

Yes, this recipe needs some help. Would have been better without mashing the potatoes. They made the chowder grainy. Next time I'll not mash cubed potatoes. I recommend adding a bay leaf, use cream or half and half, and cook parsley with the oysters.

Susan

I liked this recipe a lot. I shucked the fresh oysters we had left from the holidays. I didn't understand that I was supposed to remove the bacon from the pot before I added the aromatics, although common sense should have told me to do that. It was fine anyway. Next time I might use half and half or heavy cream instead of milk for a richer chowder. Sure, you could dress it up, if you wanted to, but overall, this is a delicious and satisfying soup for a snowy evening.

Carol

I added a little heavy cream and left the potatoes cubed.

waterloom

Delicious. I added a sprig of Rosemary to the cooking water.

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