Big Sam's Head of the Bay Seafood Chowder
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: About 1-1/2 hours
Yield: About 1-1/2 gallons
Ingredients:
2 - 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes (with hot peppers)
1 c. onions, chopped
1 c. green bell pepper, chopped
2 c. celery, chopped
2 c. carrots, diced
2 c. potatoes, peeled and diced
2 c. corn
2 c. peas
1 qt. water (to start)
2 qt. chicken stock
4 bay leaves
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 T. garlic, minced
1/4 c. parsley flakes
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
1 T. Old Bay seasoning (to start)
2 tsp. sugar
1 T. Worchestershire sauce (to start)
1 lb. crab meat
2 - 12 oz. cans clams and juice
1 - 12 oz. can mussels and juice
2 c. oysters and juice
1 lb. shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 lb. scallops
Place a big pot on the stove over medium high heat. Now, add the water, stock, and tomatoes. Add the onion, peppers, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes. Now add the bay leaves, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, Old Bay, sugar and Worchestershire. Mix well. Bring pot to a boil. Cook until vegetables are done. Now add the corn and peas. Mix well. Turn the pot down to a simmer. Add the seafood and mix well. Cook for about 10 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning. Serve.
(Second Place winner at the Soup Shoot-out of the 2009 Perryville Autumnfest)
To say that Elkton resident Samuel “Big Sam” Onizuk is a cooking dynamo would probably be an understatement. Since retiring from his career as an HVAC technician, Sam spends his time seeking out and entering as many cooking contests as he can find, estimating that he enters his recipes in probably a hundred competitions per year. He travels four or five times a year to locations all over the country in order to compete in person. He traveled his farthest for last year’s National Pie Contest in Celebration, Florida, where he took home fifth place. But his favorite destination, by far, was a lot closer to home – The National Oyster Cook-off in St. Mary’s. “They really know how to put on a competition, and they really know how to treat the contestants,” said Sam. He was so impressed that he plans to attend next time, even if he doesn’t place in the competition.
Sam is active in the Elks Lodge and has written a cookbook to help fund their many civic projects. It features over a hundred recipes, and many of them are Sam’s own award-winning selections. Books are $10 plus shipping, and you may call Sam at 410-392-3550 or the Secretary of the Lodge, Dan Bolt, at 443-350-0811, if you are interested in getting a copy.
