Story and recipe by Katherine Salom.
The first time I realized how much I loved to cook, I was 7 years old on a Girl Scout camping trip. My mom, the troop leader, brought along our big cast-iron pot, and I made everyone a dump cake that we cooked over the campfire. For 12 years of camping trips, that pot, a 9-quart Lodge, was always with us cooking something delicious. Isn’t it amazing how one piece of cookware can be filled with so many memories? That pot carried with it laughter, love, and sometimes tears, all served up with a full belly of delicious food.
In our family, special occasions involve something good bubbling on the stove, and always more than enough to share with friends. I have been lucky to learn about cooking from a Southern mom, a Cuban dad, a cowboy uncle, one grandmother with Cajun flair, and another grandmother who lived near and cooked from the waters of the Gulf Coast. With a heritage like that, I was bound to fall in love with cooking and sharing good food.
Growing up on the Gulf Coast, I always had access to fresh seafood. My grandmother Trisha Woodburn, who often goes by TW, ran an offshore fishing charter in Pensacola, Florida, and my grandfather captained the charter boat Lisa. I learned to fish early on and loved it! I grew up having and hosting fish frys, bringing our extended family together to enjoy the catch of the day fried to a crisp and served alongside dishes like cheese grits, coleslaw, hush puppies, and always a pot full of yummy baked beans. When I got older, I bought a bay boat of my own and began fishing up and down the Gulf Coast, following in my grandparents’ footsteps, and today, I am a licensed charter boat captain and run Hey Y’all Fishing Charters in Baytown, Texas. Getting to share these experiences with others brings me so much joy.
Today through social media, I share what I have learned, cook good food, and talk about life. This adventure began in Australia when I was studying abroad at an agricultural college and started a YouTube channel for my family back home to see what I was up to. Now, with a deep interest in cooking, grilling, and barbecue, too, I share a wide variety of recipes online and hope to inspire others to try something new! Cooking doesn’t have to be intimidating. Anyone has the ability to make something incredible.
My family has been making this grouper chowder for three generations, all using that same Lodge cast-iron pot. It began because, when the fish were cleaned after the charters, people only wanted to take home the fillets. But there is so much good meat in the throat of the fish; we couldn’t let it go to waste. My grandmother TW asked the deckhand to save the throats for her, and looking for ways to use them, she started making this delicious grouper chowder. The cast-iron pot belonged to her mother, my great-grandmother, and now, my mom shares it with me. It’s full of so many memories of good food and love. I hope each of you enjoys this recipe as much as we do.
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup sliced yellow onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 4 (15-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 to 3 cups chicken broth, divided
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 dashes hot sauce
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2½ to 3 pounds skinless grouper fillets, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 2 cups diced peeled red potatoes
- 1 (6.5-ounce) can minced clams, undrained
- ½ pound peeled and deveined small-to-medium fresh shrimp
- Crusty French bread, to serve
- In a 6-quart cast-iron Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, garlic, 2 cups broth, wine, lemon juice, hot sauce, bay leaf, salt, thyme, and pepper, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
- Stir in fish, potatoes, and clams; simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are just tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, uncovered, until shrimp are just pink and potatoes are tender, about 4 minutes. If a thinner consistency is desired, stir in up to remaining 1 cup broth. Serve with bread.
Katherine Salom is the personality behind “Girl Gone Grilling” and the owner and captain of Hey Y’all Fishing Charters based in Baytown, Texas. Follow her cooking adventures on social media at @girlgonegrilling.
I haven’t tried the Grouper Chowder YET. But it looks and sounds amazing. I can almost taste it. Thankyou for the recipe.
Be blessed Glenn Bradley
Can this be frozen?