Gwin's Lodge Smoked Alaska Salmon Chowder

There is a famous little restraunt in Cooper Landing, Alaska. First off Cooper Landing is one of the most gorgeous places in Alaska. Its way up in the mountains, its very small, and it has the Kenai River flowing right through it. The Kenai River is like no other river that I know of because it glows like tropical waters (no picture doing it justice). I've heard that its because its all glacier fed but I'm not entirely convinced that's what makes it glow. Anyway we have to go through Cooper Landing to get to Homer, so everytime we make a trip down I beg Marty to take me to Gwin's Lodge for their Salmon Chowder. YUM, its better than any soup I've had. This time I found they give the recipe out (awesome gift from above) so I thought I would share it... This is their recipe, word for word as they had it in the menu I brought home (with some comentary questions of my own). Their website also has this and several other recipe's.

1 & 1/2 lbs. smoked salmon (sockeye preferred), flaked
10 strips raw bacon
2 large onions, minced
4 stalks celery, minced
3 carrots, finely chopped
5 green onions, finely diced
6 cups fish broth (water mixed with fish base) what's fish base??
8 red potatoes, chopped
3/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (wondering what a bunch is??)
1 cup butter
1/4 lemon juice (a forth of what?)
1 & 1/2 Tbsp. dry dill
1 & 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 cup flour
1/3 Tbsp. black pepper
5 cups milk
3/4 cup white wine

Preparation: Chop bacon and saute in a large pot with onions, celery, carrots, green onions, and parsley for about 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Slowly add in 1/2 cup water and cover for 1 minute. Add spices and fish broth and simmer until carrots are tender. Add the chopped red potatoes and simmer until they too are tender.

In a separate sauce pan, mix the butter and flour over medium heat and stir to make a roux, or paste. Before adding this mixture to the pot, add a few large spoonfuls of the hot broth to the roux for thinning and to bring it to the proper temperature. Add this thinned roux to the pot with vegetables and broth. Stir thoroughly and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add milk, stir and bring to a simmer, allowing it to thicken slightly. Add white wine, lemon juice, corn, and flaked Smoked Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. Continue simmering, stirring frequently, until the disired thickness is obtained. A little water may be added if the chowder becomes to thick.

There you have it! Try it and you will like it.
Servings: 8 large servings