eG Cook-Off #83: A Bounty of Sweet Corn

[Margaret Pilgrim]

My mother used to run a sharp paring knife down the middle of each row of corn, making it easier for young children to eat.    You knew when you were no longer in the catered to age group when she stopped doing this for you, and when she stopped giving you the heart of the watermelon.   

[blue_dolphin]

OK, here's my take on the crispy split corn with ground chili, pecorino and bacon aioli appetizer that I mentioned upthread. 

The wedges on the right were from an ear of corn that I smoked first.  I didn't really care for that variation.  Might have overdone the smoke.

The pieces on the left were good.  Microwaved in the husk for a couple of minutes, shucked, cut into wedges as I described above, brushed with butter and ground chili then into the CSO on steam bake @ 425°F for 10 min.  I pulled them out, sprinkled with some grated pecorino and put them back in on broil for 5 min to get a little browning. 

If I've got perfect, farm-fresh corn, I'll eat it simply cooked on its own but this is an easy way to turn a few ears of corn into a quick appetizer. It would be fun to play around with different seasonings. 

 

[scubadoo97]

20 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

My mother used to run a sharp paring knife down the middle of each row of corn, making it easier for young children to eat.    You knew when you were no longer in the catered to age group when she stopped doing this for you, and when she stopped giving you the heart of the watermelon.   

Hell to get old!

[ElsieD]

Earlier I had prepped and frozen some corn.  I made a concentrated corn broth from the cobs and used some of it tonight to make grits.  After the grits were cooked, I added fresh corn kernels.  This was plated and on top went creole shrimp, garnished with  green onions, parsley and feta cheese.

[kayb]

Ooooohhh-WEEEE! I want to eat dinner with YOU!

[scubadoo97]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

Earlier I had prepped and frozen some corn.  I made a concentrated corn broth from the cobs and used some of it tonight to make grits.  After the grits were cooked, I added fresh corn kernels.  This was plated and on top went creole shrimp, garnished with  green onions, parsley and feta cheese.

Right in my wheel house

[Kim Shook]

14 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Earlier I had prepped and frozen some corn.  I made a concentrated corn broth from the cobs and used some of it tonight to make grits.  After the grits were cooked, I added fresh corn kernels.  This was plated and on top went creole shrimp, garnished with  green onions, parsley and feta cheese.

Using the corn broth to make grits is the best idea I've heard.  Genius!  I'm never throwing a corn cob away again.

[David Ross]

Any recommendation on making corn puree?  I'm going to start with the corn stock I made, but from that point on I am considering two options.  Add some corn kernels to the corn stock and just a little fresh thyme, dash salt and pepper.  I considered a bay leaf but think that may be too strong.  Then cook the corn down and puree it with cream.  Then strain to make it silky but a texture like soft mashed potatoes.  Anything else I should add?  Then another option I thought of trying but not so excited about is using the corn stock to make a loose polenta.  I'm not sure though if I would like the grainy sort of texture you get with polenta.  Any thoughts?

[scubadoo97]

On 9/11/2019 at 9:57 AM, Kim Shook said:

Using the corn broth to make grits is the best idea I've heard.  Genius!  I'm never throwing a corn cob away again.

Never throw away cobs.   Like bones they carry way to much flavor 

[heidih]

Yes on thyme. No on bay. Personally I would nix the cream - the fat can dull the vegetal top note. (how effete does that sound!) And then to be contrary i would do just a touch of brown butter as a finish.  Do let us know, 

[David Ross]

2 hours ago, heidih said:

Yes on thyme. No on bay. Personally I would nix the cream - the fat can dull the vegetal top note. (how effete does that sound!) And then to be contrary i would do just a touch of brown butter as a finish.  Do let us know, 

Thanks that helps a lot.  I'm starting on it today.

[David Ross]

Making corn stock was incredibly easy and I'll be using it as the base for a corn puree.  I'm pretty happy because I will freeze some and use it throughout the fall and winter using it in all sorts of soups, stews and sauces.  I shake my head and think all those years where we just threw the cobs away. I'd describe the flavor as not overly salty with a light corn flavor.  It's not a punch in your face corn flavor, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it as the base for a chicken noodle soup.  I used local sweet corn.  I prefer the yellow color ears if I'm eating corn on the cob, but for the corn stock I didn't think it mattered if it was the white/yellow corn.  

 

Corn Stock-

4 ears sweet corn

5 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. black peppercorns

6-8 sprigs fresh thyme

1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, smashed

 

Put all the ingredients in an Instant Pot and pressure cook for 10 minutes.  Ten minutes seemed just right for the cooking time since it takes a while for the pressure to build up, then cook, then the pressure to come down.  Since steam builds up in the Instant Pot during the process, I think next time I'll reduce the water to 4 cups so the corn stock has a little more flavor.

 

 

 

[David Ross]

Well after taking far too long to get this recipe finished, I finally did today.  Luckily for me I had made enough corn stock a few weeks back that I have plenty in the freezer.  Likewise, I froze plenty of fresh sweet corn when it was in season and used it in this dish.

 

My thought was to showcase the corn stock in a basic dish of polenta.  I wanted to see if it added to the corn taste, and what I thought about adding corn kernels to the polenta and also as a garnish.  The sage is a favorite fall herb for me and while I don't eat much bacon, it sure was good on top of polenta.  I suppose the only "cheat" was that I added some grated parmesan to make it extra creamy.  I had some polenta left in the saucepot so I quickly spooned that into a brownie dish and will let it cool overnight to be fried-up tommorrow morning for breakfast.  And this will be a new side dish for the Thanksgiving turkey.

 

Sweet Corn Polenta with Bacon and Sage-

 

1/2 cup ground cornmeal

1/3 cup sweet yellow corn kernels

2 cups corn stock

2 tsp. chopped fresh sage

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and black pepper to taste

2 tbsp. crumbled bacon

sage leaves for garnish

 

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups corn stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2. Place the cornmeal in a small bowl and add the remaining 1/2 cup corn meal and stir to make a thick paste.

3. Whisk the cornmeal mixture into the boiling stock, whisking constantly to combine. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to stir the polenta. It will bubble and thicken while it cooks.

4. After about 6-8 minutes, the polenta will be cooked through and thick. Add additional corn stock if it's too thick. Stir in the corn kernels, sage and parmesan. Season the polenta with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Quickly spoon the hot polenta onto servings plates and garnish with corn kernels, crumbled bacon and fresh sage leaves.

 

[Kim Shook]

4 minutes ago, David Ross said:

Well after taking far too long to get this recipe finished, I finally did today.  Luckily for me I had made enough corn stock a few weeks back that I have plenty in the freezer.  Likewise, I froze plenty of fresh sweet corn when it was in season and used it in this dish.

 

My thought was to showcase the corn stock in a basic dish of polenta.  I wanted to see if it added to the corn taste, and what I thought about adding corn kernels to the polenta and also as a garnish.  The sage is a favorite fall herb for me and while I don't eat much bacon, it sure was good on top of polenta.  I suppose the only "cheat" was that I added some grated parmesan to make it extra creamy.  I had some polenta left in the saucepot so I quickly spooned that into a brownie dish and will let it cool overnight to be fried-up tommorrow morning for breakfast.  And this will be a new side dish for the Thanksgiving turkey.

 

Sweet Corn Polenta with Bacon and Sage-

 

1/2 cup ground cornmeal

1/3 cup sweet yellow corn kernels

2 cups corn stock

2 tsp. chopped fresh sage

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and black pepper to taste

2 tbsp. crumbled bacon

sage leaves for garnish

 

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups corn stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2. Place the cornmeal in a small bowl and add the remaining 1/2 cup corn meal and stir to make a thick paste.

3. Whisk the cornmeal mixture into the boiling stock, whisking constantly to combine. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to stir the polenta. It will bubble and thicken while it cooks.

4. After about 6-8 minutes, the polenta will be cooked through and thick. Add additional corn stock if it's too thick. Stir in the corn kernels, sage and parmesan. Season the polenta with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Quickly spoon the hot polenta onto servings plates and garnish with corn kernels, crumbled bacon and fresh sage leaves.

 

Just sent this recipe to Mr. Kim to print out for me.  It sounds amazing!  Of course, I'll have to wait until next summer to make some corn stock!  A couple of questions - I'm guessing that your recipe would serve 4 people.  Do you think that doubling it would be a problem?  Would it need any adjustments?  Also, I sometimes make my polenta in a slow cooker.  Do you see any problems with doing your recipe that way?

[David Ross]

Just now, Kim Shook said:

Just sent this recipe to Mr. Kim to print out for me.  It sounds amazing!  Of course, I'll have to wait until next summer to make some corn stock!  A couple of questions - I'm guessing that your recipe would serve 4 people.  Do you think that doubling it would be a problem?  Would it need any adjustments?  Also, I sometimes make my polenta in a slow cooker.  Do you see any problems with doing your recipe that way?

Hi there.  You can actually make the corn stock with frozen ears of corn.  Corn seems to be one of the vegetables that freezes well and doesn't lose too much flavor after freezing.  This recipe is for four small side dishes, but really two bowls for a hearty lunch.  The recipe I made is actually half of what I'd do for a family meal so it's easily doubled with no ingredient changes.  

 

I haven't done the polenta in a slow-cooker, so I'm not sure the creaminess would work.  On the stovepot it takes less than 10 minutes once you put the cornmeal into the boiling stock, then a few stirs until it thickens and it's ready.