How To Thicken Corn Chowder? Easy Guide To Thicken Corn Chowder?

The early settlers of New England consumed chowder as a soup.

Any leftovers would be thrown into the pot to make this sort of soup.

Coastal regions such as Massachusetts are known for their corn chowder because of its local ingredients and are a mainstay food in coastal areas.

In this article, you will know the answer to the query “How To Thicken Corn Chowder?“.

Restaurants in the winter often serve corn chowder instead of clam chowder due to its popularity.

The survey showed that Massachusetts and Maine were tied for the top spot for making corn chowder nationwide.

While the specific ingredients differ according to the region, the basic principles are the same.

Cooks tend to use too much liquid and lack sufficient vegetables and meat in their corn chowder, which causes it not to be thick enough.

In the end, they end up throwing it out and making a new batch.

Do you know how to prevent this from happening? In this article, we will examine various methods of thickening corn chowders and how to tell if your chowder is thick enough.

How to Make Perfect Corn Chowder?

While corn chowder is considered one of the most difficult soups to make, with a little bit of effort, you can create the perfect consistency and flavor.

Is it as good as its reputation suggests? You won’t have a problem making corn chowder if you follow these simple instructions.

There are several things you will need to make corn chowder.

For the Broth:

• Four cups of chicken broth.
• One cup of heavy cream.
• One and a half cups of milk.

For the Chowder:

• 3 oz sliced bacon.
• 4 tablespoons butter.
• 14 cups of flour.
• 1 medium onion, diced up.
• Using a cheese grater or food processor, shred 2 carrots. Yes. You need to shred both the carrots and the onion.
• 4 ears of corn cut from cob (don’t worry, this recipe is faster than you think).
• 1 cup of diced potatoes.
• Approximately 1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper (adjust this to taste).

We’ve got all the necessary ingredients now, so let’s begin.

Cooking Broth:

The first thing we need to do is make the broth.

Then, close the saucepan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Bring the mixture to a boil, turn the heat down, cover the pan, and let simmer for approximately twenty minutes.

You can wait for twenty minutes before drinking the liquid because it will become more flavorful.

In the next step, strain off any solids that are floating on top of your broth.

Pour the coffee through a coffee filter or a fine-mesh strainer.

After you have strained the liquid, you can put it aside for now.

After your broth has simmered and sat in the pan on the stove for some time, take another medium size pan and begin to make your chowder.

Cooking the Corn Chowder:

To make chowder, you must cook the bacon first.

As well as giving you time to shred the onion and carrot for your soup, this will give you a nice flavorful base.

To cook the bacon, simply place it in a medium-high sauté pan.

Cut the onions and carrots on a cutting board as you cook the bacon.

On another cutting board, start shredding the corn cobs.

Removing the bacon from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels is the next step after it has finished cooking and rendered its fat.

Once the onion and carrot are translucent, sauté them for approximately five minutes in the bacon fat.

Then add the flour to the frying pan and mix it with the onions and carrots.

Allow it to cook off for another two minutes. Corn chowder will thicken with a roux, which is called a thickener.

Continue by adding corn and potatoes. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Once the broth is ready, add it to the pot and let it boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

Once it’s ready, season with pepper and serves.

Common Mistakes That Cause Watery Corn Chowder

Watery corn chowder results from a few common mistakes.

When making your corn chowder, you should keep these in mind so that it turns out perfectly every time.

• Leaving out the broth from the creamed corn can. The broth on its own is too thin for the soup.
• Using too much stock or water will make the soup taste sour. This will also thin and water out your corn chowder, so be sure to only use the suggested amount.
• Overcooking the corn will also cause your soup to become watery, which isn’t good at all.
• Don’t microwave your bacon to speed up the process of cooking it. This will result in uneven cooking and could result in it being very greasy. Your soup will taste terrible.
• An aroma of rich, smoky broth is emitted from the simmering broth. Although fats congeal as they get cold, leaving behind water and making it difficult for some meat or vegetables to cook through because of their more liquid state.

How to Thicken Corn Chowder?

Now that the corn chowder is done, what can you do to make it thicker? People may find that this is a problem, but there are a few ways to deal with it.

The following are some common ways to thicken corn chowder.

1. Add Cornstarch

The solution is to add a few tablespoons of cornstarch to your soup.

Mix the cornstarch with a couple of teaspoons of water in a small bowl until it turns thick like sauce.

You can stir this mixture into your chowder bit by bit until you reach the desired thickness.

Thickening your soup this way won’t change its taste and will help thicken it.

To thicken the mixture properly, you must add a little cornstarch at a time.

Adding too much of it can leave an off-taste.

Make sure to only add a little bit of the chowder at a time, and stir it slowly.

It will result in unwanted results otherwise.

2. Use a Roux

The perfect consistency for your chowder can be achieved using a roux.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a saucepan to make a roux.

Next, stir in 2 tablespoons of flour until they are fully blended.

It should take two minutes to cook this mixture until it is golden brown.

Depending on the amount you need, you may add butter or flour as needed.

Pour your roux into the soup when you are finished with it and let it simmer for about five minutes.

It should take this long for it to thicken and cool down completely.

3. Add Cornflour

It is common to find cornflour in most kitchens.

The thickener is usually used to thicken gravy, but it can also thicken soups and stews.

The corn chowder with this ingredient is thickened by mixing 1 tablespoon cornflour with 3 tablespoons water.

Stir the soup for about two minutes until it becomes thick.

In the same way that adding another liquid would thicken your soup without affecting its taste or texture, this practice will do the same.

4. Add Less Liquid to Start

The most common mistake people make when making soup is adding too much liquid and boiling it down.

There are a few issues with this method, such as watered-down corn chowder and a long reduction time if you have a weak stove.

To prevent your corn chowder from being too watery, simply add less liquid to start with.

There is always the option to make it more concentrated if there is a particular flavor you want to stand out.

5. Reduce It on the Stovetop

The soup can also be reduced on the stovetop to thicken corn chowder.

After heating the dish over medium-high heat for around 10 minutes, you will have a thick and rich dish with perfect consistency.

6. Use Cornbread as a Topping

Try topping the chowder with a cornbread piece if you want an even thicker chowder.

As you are eating your soup, add the cornbread cubes to it.

You will achieve a rich and filling chowder with a bread-like consistency and a bread-like texture.

Additionally, their unique flavor can transform the flavor of your dish.

7. Add More Veggies

Adding more vegetables will make your chowder thicker.

Celery or carrots, for example, will thicken the soup, whereas corn is just there to give it an extra kick of flavor.

Adding to your corn chowder more vegetables will contribute to its rich taste no matter what you choose.

It is best to avoid adding too many flavors at once, as they will overpower the dish and make it taste awful.

8. Wait Before Adding Milk or Cream

The end of a soup is commonly topped with a bit of milk or cream.

In addition to adding flavor and texture, doing this can also reduce the thickness of your soup.

Wait until the very end before adding cream or milk to your corn chowder to avoid this unwanted result.

Thickness and flavor can be maintained by doing this.

Conclusion

As a result, corn chowder is thick and filling by nature, but it can also be enriched if you prefer.

Taking those tips into account, you can reduce the liquid or add cornbread to your dish to achieve this.

By adding too much liquid in the beginning, it can easily become watered down and lose its rich taste.

These tips will help you improve your corn chowder even further.

If you want to read more about cooking, read here: Cooking Tips and Tricks.