Vinnie's Clam and Tog Chowda'

[FDFisherman]

Vinnie's Clam and Tog Chowda'

First make a FISH STOCK:
-1/2 onion
-1 carrot
-1 stalk celery
-2 tog racks (no head, gills, fins or skin, JUST BONES and any extra meat)
-1 bay leaf
-10 peppercorns
-TSP salt
-10 cups water

Bring up to a boil and then simmer for an hour or two. Strain it and reserve. You can make that ahead of time and freeze/refrigerate it.
Now for the Chowda'..

-5 slices of Bacon (small dice)
-2 stalks celery (small dice)
-1 medium onion (small dice)
-2 tbls Butter
-2 Tablespoons of Flour
-4 small potatoes (small dice) I used red w/ skin on, but you can use any.
-1 can of BUMBLE BEE or another brand of whole baby clams (save liquid)
-1 small can whole kernel Corn (Drained)
-2 cups heavy cream (NOT BOILING but heated!!)
-4 tog fillets (diced about the size of Dice) I used fresh, but frozen will work
-Teaspoon Fresh Thyme
-8 cups of your Fish Stock or CLAM JUICE (heated!!)

In a heavy bottom pot cook the bacon on low heat until rendered but NOT crispy. Remove it and set aside. Leave about 2 tbls of bacon fat in the pot. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour into that and stir for 1 minute. Now add your onions and celery and saute' until translucent. Add butter and the cooked bacon now. Sprinkle w/ S & P. Add the heated Fish stock slowly and stir while adding it. Bring that up to a boil and now add the corn, potatoes, 1/2 of the clams w/ the juice and fresh thyme. NOW simmer that for about 1/2 hour. Now slowly add the heated cream. Bring back to a boil and simmer LOW for another hour. Now add your TOG meat and the rest of the clams and cook for another 1/2 hour on low. Add S&P to taste and more fresh thyme if you like. Make some Pillsbury biscuits on the side.
This will feed about 5 people. Tastes better the next day. :)

[Reel Class]

...Just wanna bump this to the top :D I've made Vinny's chowda' the last 3 Decembers and it has been a HUGE hit!!! Gonna make some tomorrow night for lunch next week!!!

[ALS Mako]

-2 tog racks (no head, gills, fins or skin, JUST BONES and any extra meat)

"no head"- that's what i get from the wife. i always make stock with the heads. there is alot of good meat in it (cheeks and colar) that you can pick through and add back into the finished chowda. just a suggestion, not knocking your recipe.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Hey Vinn - How many onions......... "REALLY"

Sorry I couldn't resist :D

BTW - I tried this too and it's AWESOME!! And for those of you who don't know, Vinnie is actually a trained Chef. The guys in the fire house eat good for sure....

[FDFisherman]

Use Cod instead of blackfish NOW! Yummy!

Gerry, don't put too many onions in the sauce! (goodfellas)

[Capt. Jerry P]

I also been using Vinny's Recipe for the last few!

Excellent!!!

[FDFisherman]

makin some today.

[GDubya07]

Made this last night an OMG - Oh So Good - 2nd time making it - froze some for lunches - Great Recipe - Thanks again

Gdubya-:cool:

[PocketFisherman]

Made this for family today and added a deep fried garlic, herb, parmesean, panko crusted tog nugget or two to each mug with some crunchy bacon bits and a shot of sea salt.

Thought quadrupling the recipe would be enough - wrong.

[kurtisb]

Made this today. Excellent, thanks Vinnie.

[FDFisherman]

Tis da season. Bumpin it up.

[GregV]

made it last week for the first time. Very Nice!

[GDubya07]

Made mine las week and have my frozen lunches all ready to go - in pint containers and the wife and I ate it for dinner last night - some oyster crackers and fresh crushed black pepper on top -

Bump this up peeps - it is sooo gooood and worth the time to make

GDubs-

[Dollar Bill]

Very good! Made it New Years Day, froze some and making it again today with the catch from Tuesday. Made the stock with all the rib cages that would sometimes go to waste. Lot of meat on the ribs.:)

[aduma1107]

Made the broth Saturday with Togs ribs caught earlier in the day and made the chowda' last night with the Tog meat caught Saturday. Doubled the ingredients and plan on having it tonight. Good thing I made extra total cooking time is 5 hours between broth and chowda'. made enough to store until I have time to make another batch.

Looks delish, I'm sure tastes even better.

[aduma1107]

[QUOTE=aduma1107]Made the broth Saturday with Togs ribs caught earlier in the day and made the chowda' last night with the Tog meat caught Saturday. Doubled the ingredients and plan on having it tonight. Good thing I made extra total cooking time is 5 hours between broth and chowda'. made enough to store until I have time to make another batch.

Looks delish, I'm sure tastes even better.[/QUOTE

definitely worth the effort, excellent chowda!

[june181901]

You can always put a couple of heads in a cheesecloth bag if other occupants of the kitchen don't want to see them. Also insures no little bones get in the mix.

[GDubya07]

Trust me on this recipe - I make it every year and people cant get enough

When I make my Fish Stock I always strain it with a strainer just to get those little bones out and everything else I missed- also if you dont want to see anything yukki and gross. when the mate is cutting up the blackfish , take some ribcage meat with rib and meat and make your stock from a bunch of them .

I have made stock with whole fish and rib-cage meat and cant go wrong either way

This recipe is AWESOME and people I have made it for that dont like it - Love it

I always bump this up every year - it is too good

GDubs-:cool:

[aduma1107]

. when the mate is cutting up the blackfish , take some ribcage meat with rib and meat and make your stock from a bunch of them .

GDubs-:cool:
Exactly what I did, Brian (Prowler great mate along with Rob) gave me a bag of ribs, ton of meat on them neighbors love me again after giving tupperware of chowda':D

[GDubya07]

Time to Bump this up again Peeps - That time of year

Vinnie Tog Chowda is one of my Favorites - Making mine this weekend

Enjoy - Happy Holidays

GDubs - :cool:

[Rottilover]

You never know, you could be cooking for 20 guys inside one day.

[GDubya07]

I bump this up every year - gotta try it - one of the best out there - been making this for years and never disappoints - its that good

Happy Holidays - Merry Xmazz

Gdubs-:cool:

[AquaDawg]

Does this work with seabass or tilefish and taste just as good?


Vinnie's Clam and Tog Chowda'

First make a FISH STOCK:
-1/2 onion
-1 carrot
-1 stalk celery
-2 tog racks (no head, gills, fins or skin, JUST BONES and any extra meat)
-1 bay leaf
-10 peppercorns
-TSP salt
-10 cups water

Bring up to a boil and then simmer for an hour or two. Strain it and reserve. You can make that ahead of time and freeze/refrigerate it.
Now for the Chowda'..

-5 slices of Bacon (small dice)
-2 stalks celery (small dice)
-1 medium onion (small dice)
-2 tbls Butter
-2 Tablespoons of Flour
-4 small potatoes (small dice) I used red w/ skin on, but you can use any.
-1 can of BUMBLE BEE or another brand of whole baby clams (save liquid)
-1 small can whole kernel Corn (Drained)
-2 cups heavy cream (NOT BOILING but heated!!)
-4 tog fillets (diced about the size of Dice) I used fresh, but frozen will work
-Teaspoon Fresh Thyme
-8 cups of your Fish Stock or CLAM JUICE (heated!!)

In a heavy bottom pot cook the bacon on low heat until rendered but NOT crispy. Remove it and set aside. Leave about 2 tbls of bacon fat in the pot. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour into that and stir for 1 minute. Now add your onions and celery and saute' until translucent. Add butter and the cooked bacon now. Sprinkle w/ S & P. Add the heated Fish stock slowly and stir while adding it. Bring that up to a boil and now add the corn, potatoes, 1/2 of the clams w/ the juice and fresh thyme. NOW simmer that for about 1/2 hour. Now slowly add the heated cream. Bring back to a boil and simmer LOW for another hour. Now add your TOG meat and the rest of the clams and cook for another 1/2 hour on low. Add S&P to taste and more fresh thyme if you like. Make some Pillsbury biscuits on the side.
This will feed about 5 people. Tastes better the next day. :)

[GDubya07]

Does this work with seabass or tilefish and taste just as good?

Dont know ?- never tried it but I was told any thicker fish that wont just fall apart will work

Good Luck and let us know

Happy New Year Everyone

Gdubs-:cool:

[PeteyHD]

Wow this looks amazing. Plenty of tog in the fridge. Will give this a shot very very soon!

[ParkerBoys]

Great idea using the tog rack def gonna do that next time I get a couple whole fish.

As for the tog fillet chunks - they come out great if you sear them on the pan you cooked the bacon in( high heat) only for a 15 -20 seconds on each side or until cooked - then add them to the soup/chowder only a few minutes before serving. They have a great pan taste & the chunks stay whole. Plus the pan sear gives the tog chunks a nice kinda crispy like texture. I cut my tog chunks up in large pieces( 1"x 1"). This way you get a nice size chunk of tog and it is less chance of the chunks breaking up into smaller pieces if added at the very end. Also white pepper goes great with tog chowder. I add the crumbled bacon & oyster crackers at the end on top a bowl of chowder and its game over

[GDubya07]

That time of year guys to bump-it-up , It is way to goooood

You will not be disappointed

Merry Xmazzz and Happy Holidays Everyone

GDubs-:cool:

[Sharkyispy]

Making up a batch of this today from the blackfish caught yesterday.....

[NJ Dave]

I was going to make this tonight but I don't the meat texture of a SKUNK will taste good.

[Reelron]

And again!

[GDubya07]

Hey there guys and Gals , I bump this up every year and made mine last weekend and eating it again tonight

Delicious and just cant say it enough

Merry Xmazz and Happy New Year and Festivus for the Rest of Us

Be Well, Be Safe and Fish On

GDubs-:cool:

[NJ Dave]

After speaking with you last sat on the monger i found this recipie
and gave it a try.
Good stuff.

[GDubya07]

Hey Dave are you still fishing in my spot ?

I am glad you tried it , it takes a little time to make but so worth it

GDubs-:cool: