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Is soup in August not right?
I know that most places it is probably really hot, but it’s corn chowder and I cannot go posting corn chowder in mid December when all the fresh and pretty corn is long gone. It’s just not right.
So August it is!
I really hope you are down with this because honestly if you are not, you are kind of missin’ out
This soup?
Well this soup, or chowder I guess, it sort of blows my mind.
You all know how much I love buffalo anything. Just within the last few months I have posted buffalo salmon, buffalo shrimp, buffalo quinoa, buffalo chicken quinoa and even buffalo sauce on guacamole stuffed mushrooms. Seriously though, you have to blame my Dad and not me. The guy loves buffalo sauce, and I love to cook for others and cook their favorites.
Let’s put it this way, I make about two cups of buffalo sauce every few days.
It’s crazy, I know.
And you know how I have been telling you guys how excited I am for football season?
Yeah, well that is basically only because of the food. Football food rules and oh my gosh, I cannot wait to start overwhelming you guys with them.
But I promise to wait until at least mid September for all the fall foods.
I made it a goal to stay in Summer as long as possible and I am going to stick to it. No jumping seasons!
Ok now back to the chowder.
It is super simple and filled to the brim with corn and tons of buffalo sauce, and to be honest, you do not even need the chicken. So if chicken is not your thing just leave it out, but the bacon? The bacon is killer in this! The flavors go together so well and with the generous sprinkling of blue cheese too?
Oh so good!
But then you cannot forget the blue cheese gougères.
Wow, those things are amazing! I actually think mine did not properly “poof” because of the elevation I am at. Sometimes, I have issues with bread and cakes. Ugh. I need to read more about high elevation baking.
But regardless they were still incredible and surprisingly easy. Paired with the soup they were perfect!
The only thing is, they are kind of small…..
Buffalo Chicken Corn Chowder with Blue Cheese Gougères
Ingredients
Blue Cheese Gougères
- 1/2 cup milk, may sub water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed, 1/2 stick
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 4 ounces finely crumbled blue cheese, about 1/2 cup
Buffalo Chicken Corn Chowder
- 1 cup hot sauce, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 slices bacon, chopped (the bacon can be left out for a vegetarian version)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes (the chicken can be left out for a vegetarian version)
- 1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
- 4 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off
- 1 medium potato, peeled and diced small
- 1 cup cream or whole milk
- 3-4 cups chicken stock, or veggie stock
- salt and pepper, taste
- chopped green onions, fresh cilantro and blue cheese crumbles, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Make the Gougères:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Combine the milk, butter, pepper, cayenne and salt in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted. Stir in flour and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir vigorously until mixture forms large dough clumps, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to allow the dough to cool.
- Meanwhile, whisk eggs in medium bowl. Transfer 1 tablespoon beaten egg to small bowl and reserve. Add 1/3 of remaining beaten eggs to dough and beat until well incorporated. Add remaining eggs, beating until eggs are completely absorbed after each addition (dough will be sticky). Beat in blue cheese. Drop tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet, forming about 12 -15 mounds and spacing about 1 inch apart. Using a pastry brush, brush each mound with reserved egg, flattening any pointed tops. Bake gougères for 10 minutes at 425, then reduce the to 350 and baked until puffed, golden brown, and dry, about 15-20 minutes longer. They can be made ahead and rewarmed on baking sheet in 350° degree F oven until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve warm with the chowder.
Make the chowder:
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a glass measuring cup or microwave safe bowl. Add 1 cup of hot sauce (use a little less for less intense soup) and whisk until combined. Set the buffalo sauce aside.
- Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain. Drain all but 1Tbs. of the bacon fat, if you are skipping the bacon add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the chicken to the pot and sear on all sides for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the buffalo sauce to the chicken and cook until most of the sauce has been absorbed by the chicken, about 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. If you need to add a little oil (or bacon fat) to the pot, do so. Add the onions to the pot and sauté 5 minutes. Add the chopped potato and sauté another 5 minutes Add the garlic, paprika, crushed red pepper and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté another minute. Add the fresh corn to the pot and toss to combine and sauté another 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, remaining buffalo sauce and cream or milk to the pot. Stir to combine. Keep on a low simmer for 15 minutes.
- Ladle about half of the soup into a blender or food processor and pulse until creamy (or use an immersion blender and pulse until half the soup is creamy). Pour back into the pot and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Add the chicken back to the pot and cook until the chicken is warm, about 5 minutes.
- Top the chowder with the reserved bacon crumbles, the blue cheese Gougères, fresh cilantro, chopped green onions and blue cheese crumbles if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Which means three or four are totally acceptable!
Making this today. But it’s cold in New England and corn season is over.. Would frozen corn be an acceptable replacement? Cannot wait to have this! Obsessed with all things Buffalo flavored!
Hi Tricia,
Totally, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I challenge that you actually made this recipe. So many elements of this recipe don’t pan out to the outcome that you project. This is not the first time I have experienced these issues. I welcome your comments.
Hi, this recipe looks fantastic but just wondering what would be a good alternative to blue cheese? As much as I try, I cannot develop the joy in this cheese. I can do strong hard cheese but not blue. Cheers Darren
Hi Darren,
You can really use any other cheese you like, goat cheese and feta would be great options! Please let me know if you have any other questions!! xx
This soup was sooooo good! For sure a repeater in our house! I skipped the cheese puffs and instead made a bread bowl from a Sally’s baking addiction recipe and it paired perfectly!
Hey Sara,
I love to hear that this recipe worked out for you, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xTieghan
Looks perfect for the approach of autumn here in DC. Why, I wonder though, do you go to the trouble of using a mixer to make the gougeres? The original recipe (and the way I’ve always made them) is much easier…? Love your recipes, photos, cooking style!
Thanks so much! I used a mixer because it seemed a litter easier to me, but please do what works best for you. Hope you love this chowder and thanks again for the kind words! 🙂
This looks wonderful!! What hot sauce do you generally use?
Thanks Dollie! I pretty much always use Franks Hot sauce.
Hope you love this!
I just made this and rocked dinner time for my family! HUGE success! I had to use half the hot sauce to make it palatable for all of us. Need to find a mild version of wing sauce so I can add the full cup for full flavor. Nonetheless, this is the best meal in months!! Thank you!
Oh yeah!! SO happy you guys love this, Meg!! Thanks so much for making it and leaving me such a nice comment!
I am so buffalo chicken obsessed and I so have to make this!
You would love this. It is so your thing!
This looks amazing…I can almost taste it!
Thank you so much!
I have seen your posts on other websites and decided to drop by yours today. Boy am I glad I did. This may be my first visit, but it won’t be my last!! This soup looks incredible!! I think it’s a sign I have to make it tomorrow as my supermarket will have chicken breasts and corn on sale.
Hi Rie!!
Thanks so much of clicking over! I am so happy you are liking my site and this recipe!! Hope you love it and turns out awesome for you! Thanks so much!
This looks amazing! I wanted to let you know that I featured this today in my “What I bookmarked This Week” post and stop by and see.
Thank you so much for sharing!
This looks delicious! A thought on the high-altitude gougere woes–I found that Alton Brown’s trick of putting them into a hot oven (425 degrees) to start, then turning down the heat to about 350 after they’ve cooked for a few minutes really helped give them that lift they’d been missing. (I’m at about 5000 ft above sea level.) Might be worth a try!
Hi Jen! I actually did this too, but somehow blanked when typing my recipe I guess! I do think it helped a lot and I fixed my recipe. Thank you so much for pointing this out!!
This looks AMAZING! I love corn chowder….I need to make this for sure!
Thanks Liz! Let me know if you gibe this a try!
I am a buffalo+blue cheese freak! You’re always so creative coming up with unique recipes! I love everything about this. I know what’s going on a future menu plan!!
Awe, thank you so much! I hope you love this!
This chowder looks srumdiliumptious, Tieghan! Awesome pics!
Thank you, Shashi!