Gordon Ramsay’s fish chowder is smoky, creamy and chunky with flaked haddock and soft potato in every spoonful. It’s built on smoked haddock poached in milk, which infuses the whole base with a deep, campfire flavour that you can’t get from fresh fish alone.
This is Ramsay’s Cullen Skink from Great British Pub Food, which is the Scottish name for smoked haddock chowder. He calls for Finnan haddie from the village of Cullen on the northeast coast of Scotland. If you can’t find it, any undyed smoked haddock works.
The technique that sets this apart is blending only a quarter of the fish into the soup with the cream, then stirring in the rest as whole flakes. That gives you a creamy base with proper chunks of haddock through it, which is something most chowder recipes get wrong by going all one way or the other.
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Gordon Ramsay’s Fish Chowder
Course: Soup, MainCuisine: British, ScottishDifficulty: Medium4-6
servings15
minutes30
minutes380
kcal45 minutes
Gordon Ramsay’s fish chowder built from his Cullen Skink in Great British Pub Food. Smoked haddock poached in milk, blended partly for creaminess with the rest stirred in as chunky flakes. Waxy potatoes, cream and a drizzle of olive oil. About £10 to make, serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients
500g (1 lb 2 oz) undyed smoked haddock fillets
500ml (2 cups) whole milk
2 bay leaves
20g (1½ tbsp) unsalted butter
2 banana shallots or 4 regular ones, peeled and finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
600g (1 lb 5 oz) waxy potatoes, peeled and diced
500ml (2 cups) chicken or fish stock
100ml (scant ½ cup) double cream (heavy cream)
Sea salt and black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Flat-leaf parsley leaves, to garnish
Directions
- Poach the haddock: Lay the fillets skin side up in a wide shallow pan. Pour over the milk and add the bay leaves. Bring to a gentle simmer and poach for 3 to 4 minutes until the fish feels firm when lightly pressed. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
- Flake the fish: Lift the haddock out while still warm. Peel off and discard the skin, then flake the flesh into chunks, picking out any bones. Strain the milk through a sieve and keep it.
- Sauté the aromatics: Melt the butter in a large pan and cook the shallots and garlic gently for 8 to 10 minutes until soft.
- Cook the potatoes: Add the diced potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until lightly golden at the edges.
- Build the broth: Pour the strained smoky milk over the potatoes, then add the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are completely soft.
- Blend a quarter: Add about a quarter of the flaked haddock to the soup with the cream. Blitz with a stick blender until smooth. This gives the chowder its creamy body.
- Add the rest and serve: Stir in the remaining flaked haddock and warm through gently. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into warm bowls, drizzle with olive oil and scatter over parsley leaves. Serve with crusty bread.
Notes
- Poach the haddock for 3 to 4 minutes until firm when pressed, then leave it in the milk for 5 minutes off the heat. That infusing time is where the smoky flavour transfers.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay poach the haddock in milk first?
Because the milk pulls out the smoky flavour from the fish and becomes the base of the whole chowder. You get 5 minutes of infusing after poaching, which means that milk is loaded with flavour before it even touches the potatoes. Using water or stock here would waste all that smokiness.
Why blend only a quarter of the fish?
That’s Ramsay’s texture trick. Blending a quarter of the haddock with the cream gives the chowder a silky, creamy body without losing the chunky feel. Most recipes either blend everything smooth or leave it all rustic.
His way gives you both in the same bowl.
What potatoes should I use?
Ramsay calls for waxy potatoes like Desirée or La Ratte. They hold their shape through 15 minutes of simmering and don’t collapse into mush. Floury potatoes like Maris Piper would dissolve and make the chowder starchy and thick, which isn’t what you want here.
He also cooks them in butter for 10 minutes before adding liquid, which gives the edges a light golden colour and adds another layer of flavour.
How much does this chowder cost to make?
About £10 for 4 to 6 bowls. The smoked haddock is the big expense at £5.00 for 360g from Tesco, and you need about 500g so that’s roughly £7. Potatoes, shallots, milk, cream, stock and butter add another £3.
What should I serve with fish chowder?
Ramsay says crusty bread in the cookbook, and soda bread is the classic Scottish choice. It soaks up the smoky broth without competing with the haddock. A beer bread works too since the recipe comes from Great British Pub Food.
If you want something fresh alongside it, a sharp tomato salad cuts through the cream. Keep the side simple because the chowder is rich enough on its own.
What should I serve with fish chowder?
Bread for dipping is the classic. Ramsay’s soda bread takes 40 minutes with no yeast and no proving, so you can have it in the oven while the chowder simmers. If you want something with more flavour, the beer bread from Ultimate Home Cooking uses a whole bottle of lager and has that malty crust that works with smoky fish.
For something fresh alongside, a radish salad with lemon and olive oil cuts through the cream and takes about 5 minutes.
Does fish chowder keep well?
Not really. The fish goes rubbery and the cream can split when reheated too hard. It keeps in the fridge for up to two days, but warm it gently on the hob and don’t let it boil.
Freezing makes it worse, so this is a make-it-fresh soup. If you want smoked haddock in something that reheats better, the smoked haddock risotto keeps well for two days.
