Clam and Spam Chowder

For awhile I've been curious about the actual cooking potential with the much-lambasted processed pork substance known as Spam.  I've heard that serious cooks have used it creatively, and there's plenty of web recipes out there you can look up.

In light of the big Midwest blizzard about to hit, I bought a tin and have been sampling ways to use it.  I fried up a slice of it and ate it like a little slider burger--not bad!

In this experiment, I substituted it for bacon in a clam chowder dish I whipped up using classic techniques that I've done many times.  Here's what I did:

1) Diced half a potato and a quarter of a white onion, and sauteed them in a bit of olive oil.
2) Added about a 1/4 stick of real butter, and stirred it in along with a TBSP or so of flour (like a roux for thickening and enriching)
3) Stirred in a cup and a half or so of 2% milk, and a chicken bouillon cube (a little water may be needed)

4) I chopped a little of the Spam and mixed it in the chowder
5) I added a 6.5 oz. can of minced clams along with maybe half of the liquid

I let it simmer on low heat for awhile, tasting it to get a sense of how soft the potato chunks were getting.  You can also judge thickness by how the liquid rolls off your spoon as the picture above shows (still too watery).  I simmered it about 15-20 minutes longer and added a shake of Chulula pepper sauce for a kick.

When it thickened and concentrated the flavors, I served it up and enjoyed.  I added a bit of salt earlier in the process, but the Spam and bouillon provided plenty of salt kick, so I wouldn't bother next time.

If I discover some new things to do with Spam, I'll post again!  I will likely be Spammed-out, however, after the one little tin......