Ken’s Cast Iron Kitchen: Creamy Corn Chowder
Contributed by Ken Hagler
Cold, Alaska nights call for hot, delicious meals. Corn chowder is a great comfort food that combines the sweetness of corn with a creamy, savory broth. It can be center piece of the meal or a great side come a holiday feast. My go-to vessel is an enamelized Dutch oven which gives great even heat distribution and excellent heat retention to help ensure that each ingredient is cooked to perfection. Lets dive in!
Ingredients:
2 cans of cream style corn
1 can of whole kernel corn
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
4 slices bacon, chopped (or more)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Before cooking, ensure that your enamelized cast iron Dutch oven is clean and dry.
- Place the Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium heat, then add the olive oil/or butter
- Add the chopped bacon to the Dutch oven and cook until it becomes crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove till later.
- Remove any excess grease, leaving about a tablespoon in the pot.
- Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the pot, sautéing until the onion becomes translucent and fragrant.
- Add the cream corn and kernel corn to the Dutch oven, stirring them with the onion and garlic.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Add chopped bacon and salt, and pepper, adjusting seasoning to taste.
- Allow the chowder to simmer for an additional 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the heat.
- Serve the corn chowder hot, garnished with freshly chopped parsley and oyster crackers.
Tips:
You can customize this corn chowder recipe by adding cooked chicken or pulled pork.
Feel free to use fresh corn when it's in season, or frozen corn when fresh corn is not available.
This corn chowder recipe cooked in an enamelized cast iron Dutch oven is a simple, quick and easy to get young cooks involved in the kitchen, too. OH YES!!!