new england style clam chowder / cast iron pot review

I recently received the opportunity to review one of Martha Stewart’s enameled cast iron pots. My dad helped me out with this one as he’s the one that made this really deliciously simply New England Style Clam Chowder. With just a few ingredients, this soup together comes together really easily and is super tasty.

The cast iron pot helped to keep this chowder warm for hours after it was made, too. Impressive!

I choose the smaller 3 quart enameled cast iron pot for its size and versatility. They also have 6 quart and 8 quarts pots and I can only imagine how hefty those suckers are. The smaller 3 quart is a perfect size – and not too heavy to lift.

The enameled surface creates a beautiful rich color (if you know anything about me, you’d know that I would of course pick a green cast iron pot. “Hmm, what color should I get? Is green available? Hells yeah!”). The coating also prevents rusting and you don’t need to season the pot like you do with traditional cast iron.

Besides the pretty green color, the cast iron pots are available in red, blue, orange, purple, white and yellow – all gorgeous colors!

Okay, enough talk about the pot – onto the chowder!

We’ve had this huge ass can of chopped sea clams for awhile now. It was high time that it get used. This is a 51 oz can of clams – you can get this at Costco (Dad says it comes in a two pack). You will need the whole can!

You’ll also need a couple of bay leaves. If you’re like us, you’ll just go out to your backyard and get a couple from your bay leaf tree.

What? You don’t have a bay leaf tree? You should get one.

You’ll also need potatoes and onions. And a little bit of flour, butter and half & half (not shown).

And seriously, that’s about it.

You’ll need to drain the clams first. But save that clam juice! Because it’s going into the pot!

To start off, you cook up some salt pork… or if you don’t have any and can’t find any at the store (as in Dad’s case), you use some pork rind. That bit of porky flavor is golden and then you get to have little porky bits in your soup!

We’re skipping ahead now to the “done” part, since Dad didn’t do photos of the rest. Poof! Magic chowder!

Don’t worry, the rest of the steps are below!

Let’s just enjoy some “money shots” of the chowder.

This chowder has a TON of clams in it. Not a lot of “filler” here and certainly no large chunks of celery present… just pure, deliciously creamy clams with some potatoes. Very simple.

Simple really is the best sometimes – you don’t need a lot of stuff to make the star of this chowder really shine – let those clams speak for themselves! Sweet and tender clams really come through in every single bite here. Dad did a great job with this one!

Best of all, if you make a chowder like this in that lovely cast iron pot, it’ll stay warm for hours afterwards, making it ideal for parties, late guests, or children who come home late after work. Make some for yourself this fall!

New England Style Clam Chowder
(recipe from the back of the Sea Watch Chopped Clams can)

1 can (51 oz) Chopped Sea Clams (this is from Costco!)
1-1/2 inch cube salt pork, diced small
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
3 cups half & half (or milk)
3 tablespoons butter
2 bay leaves
freshly ground pepper

Drains clams and reserve juice.

Dice pork and saute. Remove pork pieces. Remove and reserve fat in a bowl.

Combine potatoes, onions, bay leaves and canned juice. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender (usually 12-14 minutes after boiling). Remove bay leaves. Sift flour into reserved fat and add.

Gradually stir in half & half (or milk), stirring constantly until well blended. Simmer until thickened.

Add clams, butter and seasonings. Simmer for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Disclaimer: The Martha Stewart Cast Iron Pot was complimentary from GigaSavvy. This review was not paid for and all opinions are my own.