Fannie Farmer's 1918 Fish Chowder

Ingredients

• 4 lb whole cod or haddock
• 1 1/2-inch cube fat salt pork
• 4 cups of potatoes cut in 3/4" cubes
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups milk
• 1 white onion, sliced
• 8 Common crackers
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 to 2 dried chipotle peppers

Directions

1. Set the fish head, tail, and backbone, after breaking them into pieces, in a stew pan. Pour in 2 cups cold water, heat it gradually until it reaches a boil, and cook for 20 minutes. Strain, saving the stock.
2. Chop the salt pork into small pieces and render it, then stir in the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Strain the fat into a stewpan.
3. Cover the potatoes with boiling water and parboil them for 5 minutes. Drain them, add them to the fat, pour in 2 cups boiling water, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Pour in the stock you saved from the bones, then add the fish. Cover the pan and let the chowder simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the milk, salt, pepper, butter, and the crackers, split and soaked in just enough cold milk to dampen them so they soften evenly rather than staying dry in the middle. Grate dried chipotle over each bowl with a Microplane or a similar grater, and serve right away.
6. Common crackers are oversized oyster-style crackers. Vermont Common Crackers are available from the Vermont Country Store, though regular oyster crackers may be used instead. If you prefer, skip soaking the crackers and use them as a garnish.