Cast Iron Cooked Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon bacon grease
• 2 potatoes, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped, or more to taste
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced, or more to taste
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
• ½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (6.5 ounce) can clams, liquid drained and reserved and clams chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup corn

Step 1

Heat the bacon grease in a cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat. Toss in the potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic, and cook everything together, stirring often, until the onion softens—this usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, salt, garlic powder, liquid smoke, and black pepper, then stir well so all the veggies get nicely coated.

Step 2

Pour in the chicken broth along with the reserved clam juice. Bring it to a gentle simmer over low heat and let it cook until the potatoes and carrots are tender, which should take around 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 3

While that’s simmering, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the cornstarch and keep mixing until it forms a smooth paste, about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk and cream, stirring constantly, and cook until the mixture thickens—this usually takes about 5 minutes.

Step 4

Pour the creamy butter mixture into the pot with the vegetables and broth. Keep everything on low heat and stir until the chowder thickens up nicely, around 5 to 10 minutes. Add the corn and let it cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, stir in the chopped clams and warm everything through for about 5 more minutes before serving.