Creamed Corn with Bacon and Blue Cheese
By America's Test KitchenPublished on July 23, 2009
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Use your favorite kind of blue cheese for this variation. Gorgonzola works as well. Because of the saltiness of the bacon and blue cheese, adding salt may not be necessary.
Instructions
- Cut the kernels from 3 ears of corn and transfer them to a medium bowl. Firmly scrape the cobs with the back of a butter knife to collect the pulp and milk in the same bowl. Grate the remaining 2 ears of corn on the coarse side of a box grater set in the bowl with the cut kernels. Firmly scrape these cobs with the back of a butter knife to collect the pulp and milk in the same bowl.
- Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp and brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain; set aside.
- Remove and discard all but 2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat from the pan. Add the shallot and cook until softened but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the corn kernels and pulp as well as the cream, thyme, and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary and stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the mixture has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Yield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Many creamed corn recipes suggest boiling the corn, cutting the cooked kernels off the cob, and mixing them with a cream sauce. But this technique loses most of the corn’s flavor to the cooking water. Instead we suggest removing the kernels first, then simmering them in the cream. To get the thick, spoonable texture we wanted in our creamed corn recipe, we scraped the used cobs to collect as much pulp and “milk” as possible, and we took a grater to a couple of the raw, fresh ears. By grating some of the raw kernels off the cob, we released more of the corn’s natural thickener.
Before You Begin
Use your favorite kind of blue cheese for this variation. Gorgonzola works as well. Because of the saltiness of the bacon and blue cheese, adding salt may not be necessary.
Instructions
- Cut the kernels from 3 ears of corn and transfer them to a medium bowl. Firmly scrape the cobs with the back of a butter knife to collect the pulp and milk in the same bowl. Grate the remaining 2 ears of corn on the coarse side of a box grater set in the bowl with the cut kernels. Firmly scrape these cobs with the back of a butter knife to collect the pulp and milk in the same bowl.
- Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp and brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain; set aside.
- Remove and discard all but 2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat from the pan. Add the shallot and cook until softened but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the corn kernels and pulp as well as the cream, thyme, and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary and stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the mixture has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
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