[Food Bliss] My Favorite Bacon Corn Chowder Recipe

We enjoyed such a lovely, hot, hot summer here in Portland, Oregon. As the calendar turned to October, so too did the weather: we now wake to crisp mornings, don our boots and bring jackets out from seasonal hiding, and dodge falling leaves.

I love this season.

Boots and sweaters to warm the chill outside, and soups and roasts to warm us on the inside. Chowders are, perhaps, my favorite of fall comfort foods.

I've been working on perfecting my Bacon Corn Chowder recipe for years. I've shared one version so far on the blog, but now I'm about to share what is so far my favorite Bacon Corn Chowder recipe of all.

I was given the Ken Onion Sky 8.5" Fusion Knife from Stratus Culinary recently to test out, and decided to start with chopping up the onions and garlic for this Bacon Corn Chowder recipe.

The first thing I noticed was how light this knife was, and how well it fit my hand. Compared to my other knives, the Ken Onion Fusion Knife felt like it was almost as light as air -- seriously. It felt like no work at all to quickly chop up all of the veggies for this chowder. I was honestly amazed.

Made of high performance stainless steel, this knife also contains air pockets that help it slice through veggies and meat without sticking. I am in love with this knife. It is truly my new favorite kitchen tool! And, the extra wide blade is perfect for scooping up veggies into the pan or pot as soon as they are chopped, which is always a bonus for me.

Now that I've gushed on a bit about my fancy new knife (which I highly recommend you consider if you are in the market for a new Go To kitchen knife!)... let's get back to the chowder.

The base is similar to most of my chowders: bacon, corn, celery, onions, garlic.

I love the addition of potatoes in chowders to give the dish even greater richness.

This recipe makes a thicker, creamier chowder thanks to pureeing part of the soup and then mixing it back into the pot. The thicker you prefer your chowder, the more you puree; the amount I include in the recipe is a general guideline that results in a nice creamy chowder, but you can certainly puree more if you want a thicker chowder!

The result is truly the King of Comfort Foods: a thick, rich, creamy smooth chowder full of veggies, with a nice balance of sweetness from the corn and savory from the crumbled bacon. 

I could eat this Bacon Corn Chowder every single day.

Many thanks to Stratus Culinary for sending me the Ken Onion 8.5" Fusion Knife, which I used in this recipe. As always, all opinions and photos are my own. This post contains an affiliate link, which helps support my ability to continue to bring fresh content to this site! 

The Best Corn Chowder Recipe

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Ingredients

• 8 strips of bacon chopped
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots
• ¾ cup finely chopped celery
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme OR ½ Tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups yellow corn
• 5 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 medium baking potatoes peeled and cubed (small cubes)
• Optional: 3 Tablespoons thinly sliced basil

Instructions

• Cook the bacon in a large (6 or 8 quart) pot over medium heat. Stir bacon occasionally and cook until crisp. Transfer to paper towels. Reserve about 3 heaping Tablespoons of the bacon for garnish, returning the remainder back to the pot.
• Add butter, garlic, onions, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaf, to the pot. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the onions are soft and lightly golden. Be sure to stir occasionally.
• Add the corn, milk, heavy cream, and potatoes to the pot. Cover, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
• When potatoes are tender, discard the bay leaf.
• Transfer about 4-5 cups of the soup to a blender and puree. The amount you puree depends on how you prefer your chowder: puree more of the soup if you prefer a thicker, creamier chowder; puree 3-4 cups if you prefer a thin "soupier" (that's totally a word) chowder.
• Pour the puree back into the chowder and stir to blend and thicken.
• Garnish with bacon and, if you desire, the fresh chopped basil.

Notes

If using frozen corn kernels, thaw to room temperature before using.

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