Did your neighbor share his fresh catch of Tautog with you ?

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Tautog ( Blackfish) Chowder


 Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced onions
1 cup diced potatoes(1/4″cubes)
1/8 cup diced scallions
1/2 cup diced bacon
1 cup heavy cream
5 T butter
3 T flour
4 cups fish stock (or 2 cups of clam juice 2 cups water if you do not make your own stock)
2 lbs of tautog chunked in 1″ pieces
Salt
 Pepper
Directions:
In a medium sauce pan crisp the diced bacon on high heat. When bacon is crisp remove half the bacon and lower heat to medium low, and in the remaining bacon and bacon grease saute onion until transparent. Drop 1/2 of the scallion, cook off about 2 min and drop in potato and add 2 T of butter and mix well adding the fish stock or clam juice and water.. Bring to boil until potatoes are forkable.
In a small skillet on medium heat melt 3 T of butter and mix in 3 T of flour creating a roux and cook until lightly brown. Bring the stock down to a simmer and add the roux and 1 cup of heavy cream and mix well every 2 minutes until thickens. Once thick add in the tog and simmer about 5 min until fish is done.
It is important to simmer and not boil soup after adding cream because boiling will curdle the cream making the soup lumpy and also add tog at the end because it will break apart when stirring the roux into the soup..