Sunday Soup #62: Bacon, Shrimp, and Corn Chowder

My best buddy, Jayson, and I both enjoy seafood soups, but our normal family dinner crew includes others that are anti- anything that comes from the water. This weekend, though, those that normally object were either missing or eating something different, so I was free to pick a seafood soup that looked yummy. But, how did it go?

This recipe came from: https://theblondcook.com/bacon-shrimp-corn-chowder/

*Pic 1 - https://theblondcook.com/bacon-shrimp-corn-chowder/

Variations from Recipe as Written: I actually make a few alterations to this one... I made 1.5 times the recipe. I used an extra slice of bacon. I used an extra half-pound of shrimp. I used "Better Than Bullion" to supplement the chicken stock (because I needed 4.5 cups, but stock is normally sold in 4-cup sized boxes). I added two tablespoons of Lawry's Seasoned Salt to the pot to kick up the flavor. And, instead of adding the bacon and the shrimp to each bowl as it was prepped, I just added the shrimp and bacon back to the pot once the rest of the broth/soup was finished.

General Thoughts: This soup was fairly simple to put together... Lisa helped me by dicing the bacon and chopping the onions, but that was only real pre-prep work required. The rest was just the usual cooking steps...

I noted that this was one of those recipes that came out looking much less "polished" than the pictures from the website. It did come out very chowder-y, which was good, but it wound up looking a bit rougher and more stew-ish than the pristine bowl of chunky, creamy perfection they depicted in the staged photos. I think this was partly due to the use of the immersion blender, which made the corn and onions a little ragged. But, as with most soups (imho), the taste was more important than how it looked...

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

When I first tasted a spoonful of the soup out of the pot, it was actually a bit bland. That surprised me, as I thought the amount of bacon I'd fried up would have added more salty, savory flavor to the mix. I could taste the paprika and the thyme (the most forward flavors were the thyme and the shrimp), but it definitely needed a kick... Ideally, I would have preferred a cajun seasoning or some Old Bay, but I had Lawry's Seasoned Salt to hand, and that did the trick.

This soup turned out a little thinner than I expected, but it was still hot and hearty. Each bite was savory (thanks to the Lawry's) and had a piece of tender, yummy shrimp (which reinforced my choice to add the extra half-pound of shrimp). I was also a bit worried about textures and consistency, but those fears were unfounded, as it wound up close to feeling like a chunky shrimp stew that went down easy.

Potential Improvements? I think substituting Old Bay seasoning or something like Tony Chachere's creole seasoning would have been better than Lawry's. Adding potatoes would definitely have been a plus, as well as some Italian sausage or chicken (to make it a meat trio - shrimp, bacon, and sausage or chicken) and provide some additional bulk and flavor.

Polling the Fam: For me, this was another of those soups that would have wound up at 3.5 stars, but I am confident with the improvements I suggested it would be a solid 4. I'd definitely make it again. Jayson thought it was good but thought it was missing a little something too, suggesting potatoes and some chicken or sausage to help flesh it out. Hunter also liked it overall, and agreed on the potatoes, but said it wasn't his favorite soup I've ever made.

Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)