I know it sounds impossible, but sometimes after a big crab boil (which is the best dinner around, even if it does make for slow eating…), we have leftovers. Gasp!

After your cleaned crabs are boiled, first and foremost, you gotta pick em. Which isn’t nearly as fun when you’re not stuffing your face…. but still totally worth the effort!

So now you have fresh caught, deliciously boiled, and clean picked lump blue crab meat. What to do? Crab cakes come to mind first… but that seemed a little too typical for me. Too easy. I was looking for something out of the box. Plus, yesterday was a cold and drizzly day, so I knew a soup would hit the spot!

So, here’s the skinny on making your own delicious pot of crab chowder:

Which, by the way, is not a “skinny” soup. This is a full fat, delicious comfort food soup.

Crab Chowder Recipe

Boil the carrots and potatoes:
The first thing you’ll want to do is peel and chop 3-5 medium potatoes (I used red potatoes because that is what was in my pantry) and 3 large carrots, also chopped.

Place these in a soup pot and add just enough stock to cover the potatoes and carrots well, but don’t make them swim! Cover, turn the heat on med/high and let them boil.

Fry up some chopped bacon:
Now you’ll need 5-10 slices of bacon, chopped into bite-size pieces. Fry these up in a large skillet until they reach your preferred crispness level. These will be served as a topping for the soup.

I got mine a little too crunchy for my tastes, but that’s ok!

Now, drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel and forget about them until setting the table.

Sautee onion, celery, garlic, and mushrooms:
To the bacon grease, add one large diced onion and about 3 stalks of chopped celery (which I was out of…boo) and let them cook until the onions start to get clear. Now add a Tbsp of chopped garlic and some chopped mushrooms if you have them (I was also out! Eeek!). Let this cook another minute or so until it smells fragrant.

Make a roux, like a gravy:
Now while you’re grease is still hot (but don’t let it start smoking!) you’re going to add flour, in a less than exact manner, as if you were making white gravy…

Add a little at a time (1-2 Tbsp) and start whisking. You want the grease to be soaked up by the flour, but not be quite as cakey as mine was (I was a bit heavy-handed with the flour)

Here is an important tip for making gravy, or anything where you use this method to create a thickening base: let the flour cook for a bit before adding your liquid. The smell will change and get a cooked scent to it almost like baked bread. It just makes it all yummier, I promise.

Add the liquid:
This is the time to add your milk. And whisk your little heart out!

Again, this part is not an exact science and has more to do with how it looks, tastes and feels rather than a measurement.

Start with a generous pour (a cup or maybe a bit more) of milk and whisk it fast to get it mixing in with the flour.

It’s a back and forth process of whisk and let it cook, then whisk and add more milk.

I would use 2-3 cups of milk, then start using stock, broth or water to finish the job… tasting is important. You’ll know you’ve added enough liquid when a) the consistency is good, quite thick, but not chunky or clumping together and b) the mixture doesn’t taste “floury” but creamy and smooth.

Combine it all together:
Once you have this consistency or somewhere close, you’ll open your soup pot and pour the gravy mixture into the boiling potatoes and carrots. Whisk some more, as the broth will need to marry with the gravy. Your arm will now be a little tired, but you’re almost done!

Now you’ll add a bit of extra flavor to the game: salt and pepper to taste. Creole/Cajun seasoning to taste. My stock and my crab both had some heat to them, so I didn’t add too much.

Also, throw in a Tbsp of worsheschire sauce and two cans of corn. I would prefer one creamed corn and one whole kernel, but I settled for two cans off whole… it works.

Now add your crab meat
Which for this big pot of soup should be somewhere around 1-2 lbs, but I only had about 2 cups, I just went with it, because this is the kind of recipe where you just use what you have and adjust as needed!

That also pretty much sums up the way I cook, too!

This would be excellent served in a bread bowl! Mmmmm. Enjoy!

Corn & Crab Chowder Recipe
This rich, hearty soup is the ultimate comfort food.

Cook Time 1-2 hours
Servings 8 people

INGREDIENTS
3-5 Medium Red Potatoes Peeled and chopped
3 Large Carrots Quartered and chopped
Stock or Broth to cover potatoes and carrots in 4-6 Qt soup pot
5-10 slices bacon Chopped
1 Large Onion Diced
4 stalks Celery Diced
2 Tbsp garlic Minced
6-8 Mushrooms Chopped, optional
2-4 Tbsp Flour
2-3 Cups Milk
1-2 Cups Additional Stock or Broth
salt/pepper to taste
Tony’s Creole Season or other seasonings as desired
1 Tbsp Worchester
1 Can Whole Kernel Corn
1 Can Creamed Corn
1 Lb Lump Crab Meat More if desired, and available!

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Peel and Chop Potatoes and Carrots, place in large pot and cover with stock/broth and bring to a boil.
2.In a large skillet, fry chopped bacon until desired doneness for garnishing the soup. Drain on paper towels and save for serving.
3.In bacon grease, saute chopped onions and celery until onions are almost clear. 4.Add chopped mushrooms and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant and mushrooms are partially done.
5.Add flour, a little at a time to grease and vegetable mixture, and whisk in until grease is absorbed but not cakey. Cook until fragrance changes to a cooked flour smell.
6.Whisk in some milk quickly, and then let it cook down, to give it time to mix well into the flour. Alternate adding liquid (start with milk, then add stock/broth) and letting it cook, until texture is smooth.
7.Add this gravy mixture to the boiled potatoes and carrots and mix until smooth.
8.Now add seasonings: salt/pepper, cajun/creole seasoning, Worchester sauce, and two cans of corn. Mix well.
9. Stir in the crab meat and heat through, but don’t boil. Serve with crackers, bread or rolls.

Please visit Leslie’s blog site:  http://thehuntinghomeschoolhousewife.com for more amazing recipes and hunting adventures.  Leslie is a Prois Staff Member and is passionate about her family and the outdoor world!