I don't remember my Grandma cooking this chowder, but I certainly heard stories from my father and aunts about the fish monger who, in his horse and cart, sold fish along the Pond Road in Jefferson. He'd bring his fish directly to his customers, in an era when people couldn't just hop into a car and drive many miles into town. Indeed, I don't believe my grandmother ever learned to drive. So I can imagine Grandma asking the fish monger for "a small haddock not more than 3 pounds, cut for chowder" and her making fish chowder at Hillan'dale when Dad, Aunt Mig, and Aunt Hester were young.
INGREDIENTS
Small haddock, not more than 3 lbs,
cut for chowder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Crisco or butter or 1/4 lb fat
salt pork
2 medium onions, diced
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 quart whole milk
Cover the fish in boiling water, add the salt, and cook 15 minutes.
Cool, then skin and bone the fish, reserving the fish water for later.
In a stew kettle, melt the fat and cook the diced onions gently.
Add the diced potato and fish water, and cook until the potatoes are done.
Add the cooked fish and milk, and heat to the boiling point.
Serves 6 - 8.
Today, the fish monger no longer travels with his horse and cart down country roads. Instead, we buy our fish from the supermarket or, if we're lucky, a local fish store. And it wouldn't be easy to find a "small haddock not more than 3 pounds, cut for chowder". This means the fish water won't be as flavorful without the head and bones, etc. so you may want to supplement the