One thing I really miss about Savannah is the abundant seafood that we so took for granted in the Georgia lowcountry—especially the sweet inlet brown shrimp and blue crabs that teemed in the marsh creeks surrounding our city from spring until early December.
Unhappily, we can no longer take those things for granted. Our town doesn't have the luxury of a local seafood market selling fresh wild-caught shrimp or blue crab (even though we're within hollering distance of the Chesapeake Bay). So when we are near a reliable seafood vendor, I never miss the chance to buy a couple of pounds of shrimp. They always cost a little more than we were accustomed to paying in Savannah, but they're well worth it.
Earlier in the week, I'd picked up some beautiful late sweet corn, and since the weather has been so nice and cool, some of the shrimp we bought on Friday just had to go into a warming corn chowder.
Shrimp and Corn Chowder
In Savannah, we used to freeze sweet silver-queen corn freshly cut from the cob so we could have this in the winter, either with deep-water shrimp which we could get fresh year round or with crabmeat we'd packed covered in 2 percent milk and frozen for using in soup, stew, or gumbo through the cold months.
Serves 4
1 pound (headless weight) fresh in-shell shrimp or about 1¾ pounds fresh head-on shrimp
Salt
4 large ears fresh sweet corn
3 slices thick-cut hardwood smoked bacon, diced
1 ½ cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large, trimmed, split lengthwise, peeled, and diced)
1 heaped cup diced celery (2-3 ribs, washed, strung, and diced)
1 large boiling potato, peeled and diced (about 1-1¼ cups)
Whole nutmeg in a grater
Whole black pepper in a mill
1 cup whole milk or ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream
1. Bring 2½ quarts (10 cups) water to a rolling boil in a heavy-bottomed 3½-4 quart pot set over medium-high heat. Carefully add the shrimp and give them a stir. Cook until they are just curled and uniformly pink, no more than 2 minutes (the water should not boil again). Immediately transfer them with a slotted spoon or frying skimmer to a colander. Rinse briefly under cold running water to arrest the cooking, then peel them, reserving their shells. Return the shells to the water in which the shrimp cooked and let it come back to a simmer, stirring occasionally and watching in case it starts to boil over.
2. Meanwhile, cut the shrimp crosswise into small, bite-sized pieces, cover, and refrigerate until needed. When the shrimp cooking water and shells are simmering again, add a generous pinch of salt, adjust the heat to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until it is reduced by half (about half an hour). Turn off the heat, strain the broth into a heat-proof bowl, and discard the shells. You should have right at 5 cups of broth.
3. While the shell broth is simmering, shuck the corn an remove the silks with a vegetable brush. Over a large bowl, cut the kernels from each cob and then scrape the cob with the back of a paring knife into the bowl. You'll have about 3½-4 cups. Set the corn aside and discard the cobs.
4. When the broth has been strained and set aside, wipe out the pan in which it cooked, return it to medium heat, and put in the bacon. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until its fat is rendered and it's golden, about 6-8 minutes. Add the onion and sauté, tossing or stirring often, until translucent and beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Add the celery and sauté, still tossing and stirring, until it is softening, about 5 minutes longer. Add the potato and stir until hot, then add the shrimp broth and a generous pinch of salt. Raise the heat long enough to bring it to a boil and then adjust it to a steady simmer. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes, mashing some of the smaller pieces of potato against the side of the pot as they soften to help thicken the broth.
5. Stir in the corn and season well with more salt, a generous grating of nutmeg, and several liberal grindings of pepper. Raise the heat once again and bring it back to a steady simmer, then adjust the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the corn is tender, about 10 minutes. The chowder can be made to this point 2-3 hours ahead: remove it from the heat and let it cool completely before loosely covering it. Half an hour before you're ready to serve it, return the pot to medium-low heat and take the shrimp from the refrigerator.
6. Let the chowder come slowly back to a steady simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't start to scorch on the bottom, stir in the milk or milk and cream, and raise the heat. Let it return to a simmer, still stirring occasionally, then add in the shrimp and let it simmer until they are hot through, about 3-4 minutes. Take it from the heat, taste and adjust the seasonings, and serve at once in warmed bowls with crusty bread, hot biscuits, or crackers.