Easy, delicious rockfish chowder recipe

A great way to enjoy fresh or frozen Oregon Coast rockfish, especially on a cold, rainy or foggy day, is rockfish chowder. The fillets from a couple of rockfish will yield enough chowder for your entire family, or for a feast to enjoy with friends and neighbors, double the recipe.

Here is Capt. Andy’s favorite rockfish chowder recipe, which yields 8 servings or 2 quarts. Halibut, lingcod or even salmon can be substituted for rockfish.

1 cup finely sliced carrots
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 minced garlic clove
1 package cream cheese (8 oz.), cut into small cubes
2 cans (10.5 oz. cans) cream of potato soup, condensed
1 can (10.5 oz.) cream of mushroom soup, condensed
2 cups 2% milk or 1 cup milk and 1 cup half-and-half
1 to 2 pounds rockfish, cut into small pieces

(optional) 4 strips cooked bacon with a small amount of bacon grease
1 cup frozen corn, or 1 can corn (drained)
Salt, pepper and lemon pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté the thinly chopped carrots in butter. Add chopped green onions and garlic. Cook until tender.

Add the soup (undiluted), milk and cream cheese. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the cream cheese is melted. (Cutting the cream cheese into small cubes will allow it to melt much faster than a whole block). Add crumbled cooked bacon and small amount of bacon grease.

Bring to a gentle boil, stirring to prevent burning the milk or soup.

Add chopped rockfish fillets, raw; and corn. Season with salt, pepper and lemon pepper. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until fish is cooked.

Serve with a dash of Tabasco, or cayenne pepper, and a dab of butter.

To make a seafood chowder, add cooked crab meat and/or cooked shrimp.

To catch a limit of rockfish and lingcod to enjoy with this recipe, check out www.brookingsfishing.com. Capt. Andy learned about this recipe while working on halibut charter boats in remote Southeast Alaska, where charter operators living in the bush ate fish several times a weeks.