Anybody remember Bratten's Seafood Restaurant? (Salt Lake City: move, eat, kitchen)

[sayulita]

Oh and by HOT, I'm sure they meant HEATED although I don;t really see why this is important unless you neede to make the soup fast. I would just add it cold and heat it up.

[CCSLC]

Well, after a bit of research, here's what I can find:

Bratten's, which was open in Utah from 1953-1988, was owned by the Milton Weilenmann family and the chef for many years was Ralph Searle. Weilenmann died last November, but his son Mike is around Utah somewhere. Searle has also passed, but one of his nieces occasionally contributes recipes to the Salt Lake Tribune "Cuisine Quest" when readers have Bratten requests. Unfortunately, two readers in the last ten years have request Bratten Shrimp Chowder with no luck.

Now, for Katzpur's recipe, I input it in my recipe converter program and this is what it came up with. It's mathematically sound, but you'll obviously still have to do some trial and error with the "until thick" type instructions. By the way, you can buy fish stock cubes at some stores. I believe Knorr makes some.

Bratten's Shrimp Chowder
YIELD: 1 Gallon
6½ C celery, diced
1½ C onions, chopped
2 T salt
½ t (heaping) white pepper
¼ t (heaping) garlic
Flour (for consistency)
3¼ C tomato puree (~26 oz)
1½ C diced tomatoes
Fish stock
1½ C Alaska shrimp

Cook celery and onions in shortening.
Add salt, white pepper, and garlic.
Mix in flour until thick
Cook tomatoes and tomato puree; stir in while still warm
Add fish stock until chowder reaches desired consistency
When cool, add shrimp

---------------------
I also happened upon the clam chowder recipe, which does have potatoes. Here it is, just in case:

Bratten's Clam Chowder
3/4 pound minced clams or 2 (6 1/2-ounce) cans, liquid reserved.
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup diced celery
2 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup flour
1 quart half-and-half or milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Drain liquid from clams and pour over onions, celery and potatoes in a saucepan. Add enough water to barely cover vegetables. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter, add flour and stir to blend. Cook 2 minutes. Add cream, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook, stirring with a wire whisk, until smooth and thick. Add the sauce to the potatoes mixture. Add clams. Stir and blend thoroughly. Heat through. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

[sayulita]

Fantastic! Thanks for the research. I just got back from buying all the ingredients and will probably make it this afternoon. I found some frozen fish stock at a local organic store but will probably either make my own or use clam juice of fish stock cubes in the future. I don't have shortening so will probably just use corn or olive oil and butter for the sauteing. I will absolutely post the results for you both as soon as I've tried it. Seems like a small amount of shrimp so may add more.

[CCSLC]

I was thinking the same thing about the shrimp----that it really needed more.
I probably won't have a chance to try the recipe myself for a few weeks, so I'm looking forward to learning how yours turns out!

[sayulita]

I'm chopping celery as we speak! May have to run out for more shrimp though. Can you think of any reason why the tomatoes should be heated before adding and then cooled before adding the shrimp? Seems like a needless extra step to me.

[sayulita]

OK ladies. The soup is made and tasted and I've written up the recipe. I tried to write it and adjust the amounts so that it's easy to use and there were no half cans of anything leftover. It's a pretty darn good soup!

Some thoughts on the finished product:

1.) Next time I would probably reduce the celery by about 1 1/2 cups and add another cup of onions.
2.) I would use some bacon grease for part or all of the cooking oil.
3.) I might add a few more cloves of garlic.
4.) I think clam juice would work just fne instead of fish stock.
5.) I'm betting it will taste even better tomorrow.
6.) I think some tiny cubed potato chunks would be really good in it.

Thanks so much to both of you for helping out on this. It was truly a collaborative effort. Don't you just love the internet. Here's the recipe.


Bratten's Shrimp Chowder
YIELD: 1 Gallon

6½ c. celery, small diced (about 15 stalks)
1½ c. onions, chopped
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. white pepper
1 med clove garlic, minced
1/4/c. flour
1 28 oz. can tomato puree
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 c. Fish stock or equivalent in cubes
3 c. cooked small shrimp

Cook celery, onions and garlic in oil over medium heat, stirring every few minutes.. It will take about 30-45 minutes or so for the celery to soften enough. They should should be a little firm but not crisp.
Add salt and white pepper. (I used black pepper)
Mix in flour and let it all cook gently for a few minutes while stirring.
Add fish stock, tomatoes and tomato puree. Heat until good and hot.
Add the shrimp and heat until they are warmed through. Serve with a crusty bread and maybe a salad.
* Start with 2 tsp. and add more at the end if needed. Some canned tomatoes are pretty salty and the fish stocks or cubes can be too.

Please let me know how yours turn out!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

If you use cooked shrimp, they ahve to be added to cool soup and then re-heated as used. Otherwise, the shrimp get really tough.

[sayulita]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

If you use cooked shrimp, they have to be added to cool soup and then re-heated as used. Otherwise, the shrimp get really tough.

Thanks! I'll remember that for next time I make it. Katzpur and zionide - take note and adjust my recipe accordingly.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by sayulita

OK ladies. The soup is made and tasted and I've written up the recipe. I tried to write it and adjust the amounts so that it's easy to use and there were no half cans of anything leftover. It's a pretty darn good soup!

Some thoughts on the finished product:

1.) Next time I would probably reduce the celery by about 1 1/2 cups and add another cup of onions.
2.) I would use some bacon grease for part or all of the cooking oil.
3.) I might add a few more cloves of garlic.
4.) I think clam juice would work just fne instead of fish stock.
5.) I'm betting it will taste even better tomorrow.
6.) I think some tiny cubed potato chunks would be really good in it.

Thanks so much to both of you for helping out on this. It was truly a collaborative effort. Don't you just love the internet. Here's the recipe.


Bratten's Shrimp Chowder
YIELD: 1 Gallon

6½ c. celery, small diced (about 15 stalks)
1½ c. onions, chopped
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. white pepper
1 med clove garlic, minced
1/4/c. flour
1 28 oz. can tomato puree
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 c. Fish stock or equivalent in cubes
3 c. cooked small shrimp

Cook celery, onions and garlic in oil over medium heat, stirring every few minutes.. It will take about 30-45 minutes or so for the celery to soften enough. They should should be a little firm but not crisp.
Add salt and white pepper. (I used black pepper)
Mix in flour and let it all cook gently for a few minutes while stirring.
Add fish stock, tomatoes and tomato puree. Heat until good and hot.
Add the shrimp and heat until they are warmed through. Serve with a crusty bread and maybe a salad.
* Start with 2 tsp. and add more at the end if needed. Some canned tomatoes are pretty salty and the fish stocks or cubes can be too.

Please let me know how yours turn out!

Wow! I'm impressed! Can you remember the real thing well enough to be able to say how close our collaborative effort actually came? I'm excited to try this, too, now that I have something more manageable to work with. I'm so glad you came looking for this recipe. Otherwise, I'd have probably just hung on to my tattered old hand-typed (yes, this was before computers!) recipe for another twenty-five years, wishing I knew how to make it work!

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

If you use cooked shrimp, they ahve to be added to cool soup and then re-heated as used. Otherwise, the shrimp get really tough.

One would think you knew a thing or two about seafood, being from New Orleans and all! So would you suggest starting with raw shrimp and cooking it in the chowder? Is that what you meant? Thanks for the hint, BTW! I knew you'd come in handy sooner or later!