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Corn Chowder
4 slices bacon 2 cups corn (cooked) 2 medium potatoes (cooked) 1 medium carrot (cooked) 4 tablespoons navy beans or soy beans (cooked) 2 1/2 cups diluted evaporated milk 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper Cut bacon in pieces, fry, add cooked vegetables, then milk. Cook until thoroughly heated, add seasonings and serve. Serves eight to ten.
A camp chowder built entirely from things already cooked, which is the point: it assumes leftovers or cans and a single pot over a fire.
- Diluted evaporated milkEvaporated milk was the shelf-stable camp standby; "diluted" means equal parts milk and water, so use about 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk plus 1 1/4 cups water. Whole milk works, but the chowder loses some of its body.
- Do not let it boilOnce the milk goes in, hold it below a simmer. Milk scorches easily on the bottom of a thin camp pot, and the bacon fat and salt make separation more likely, though evaporated milk stands up to heat better than fresh.
- Drain the bacon fatBacon fat -- the recipe does not say to drain. Four slices render only a few tablespoons; pour some off after frying if you would rather not have a slick on the surface.
- The vegetablesEverything is precooked, so cut the potatoes and carrot into dice no larger than the corn kernels; they only need to heat through. Fresh, canned or frozen corn all work.
- BeansFour tablespoons of cooked navy beans is roughly a quarter cup -- a small amount, there for substance rather than flavour. Canned white beans, rinsed, are a direct substitute; cooked soybeans are harder to find and firmer in texture.
- TimingTen to fifteen minutes over moderate heat is enough. Longer and the potatoes break down into the milk, which some cooks prefer for thickness.
- YieldEight to ten servings is optimistic by modern portions -- treat it as four to six bowls as a main course, or eight small cups alongside something else.
- Seasoning lastSalt goes in at the end as written, and for good reason: bacon and canned corn both carry salt, so taste before adding the full teaspoon.