New England Chowder

Parker House, Boston, Sept. 23, 1873

Have a fresh, firm cod or haddock, a fish about five pounds is the best size. Take saucepan large enough to hold a little more than you wish to make. Cut salt pork in small squares about the size of dice, and fry quite brown. Lay in the same pan alternate layers of thin sliced potatoes first, then slices of fish, then broken water crackers, small fried pork, shreds of raw onion, black pepper and salt to suit the taste. Continue the layers until you have used up your material. Pour over it the pork fat from the scraps and half a pint of water, to keep from burning at the bottom. Close the saucepan tight and set on the fire. Cook slowly, without stirring, for forty-five minutes, when it is ready for the table. As some fish cook drier than others, if you do not find the chowder thin enough to serve well in tureen, add some fresh milk just before taking up, and let it come to a boil.

From page 10 of the 1904 edition.

Original pages from the book