Slow cooker scallop chowder recipe adds class to your crock-pot

Scallops make a decadent chowder. (Steve V./creativecommons)

The slow cooker has long been famous as a way to get good taste and texture out of inexpensive cuts of meat. It's also often kept in the back of the cupboard until fall and winter, when people seem to crave hearty hot stews and slow-simmered beans.

That's an undeserved fate for an appliance that can add so much to your cooking in warmer weather, keeping your house cool while you play outdoors and come home to a perfectly cooked meal. What could be better for summer?

It's also time to dispel the myth that the slow cooker is for cheap meat and your Grandma's stews. Nice things can come out of your slow cooker, so it deserves some higher-quality ingredients now and then. Sea scallops work quite nicely in the slow cooker, and adding them at the end to cook in the crock-pot's steamy heat keeps them nice and tender.

Oven or pan cooking frequently results in a dried-out scallop, even when you watch it closely. Try them this way, and you'll never look back. Serve as a starter to a main dish fish like salmon or swordfish, or on its own as a light lunch or dinner with salad and crusty hot bread.

Slow Cooker Scallop Chowder Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 10 oz. can clam juice
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Salt and ground pepper to taste
• 2 tsp hot sauce
• 3/4 - 1 lb large sea scallops, cut into uniform pieces
• 1 cup evaporated skim milk

Directions: Combine potatoes, celery, mushrooms, onions, clam juice, wine, thyme, bacon, and salt and pepper, and hot sauce in the crock of your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until potatoes and vegetables are tender. Stir in scallops and cook for 30 minutes on low or 15-20 minutes on high, until scallops are cooked throughout. Stir in milk just before serving. Serves 4.

Tips: You can use smaller and less expensive bay scallops, but the cooking time will be shorter. Be careful not to overcook.

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