Creamy Polenta

[dak]

This past weeek we were at Disney (FL) and and had dinner at the Restaurant in the Grand Floridian Nicosee---(?) I have never had a creamy polenta before, this was superb. Anyone know how to do it

[Alex]

I'm not sure what you mean by "creamy." If you use a ratio of 1:4 or 4½ cornmeal to water (plus some salt, of course), then stir in a good-sized glob of sweet butter just before serving (and some grated Parm-Reg, to make things even better), you'll be eating a soft, very rich, and very, very tasty polenta.

[Katherine]

This past weeek we were at Disney (FL) and and had dinner at the Restaurant in the Grand Floridian Nicosee---(?) I have never had a creamy polenta before, this was superb. Anyone know how to do it

Do you normally make it from scratch, or do you buy the tubes of rubbery polenta, ready for slicing?

[dano1]

4-1 to 5-1 ratio cormeal to liquid willk give you a nice consistency. I use stock or a stock and milk combo for the liquid. Finish with cheese and butter, fresh herbs, truffle oil, etc...

Loose is better especially if holding any length of time.

hth, danny

[tissue]

I agree with the stock, milk combo...

[dls]

I've always used a ratio for 1 cup cornmeal to 4 cups liquid for polenta. Though I've never tried it, I have seen reference to "soft" or "creamy" polenta with a 1 X 5 ratio.

[Jason Perlow]

A good person to ask about polenta would be Marco Canora, who is having a Q&A on eGullet this week. He serves one of the creamiest polentas in NYC.

[cjsadler]

A chef once showed me the simple secret to her famous creamy polenta: use half heavy cream and half whole milk. This makes incredibly creamy and delicious polenta (the stock/milk combo isn't as good). You may be nervous about adding that much heavy cream, but I know from taste that alot of restaurants use it in their grits and polenta (seems like heavy cream is often the 'secret' to restaurant dishes). Not healthy, of course, but it does make it really good.

Edit: Also, to get a 'creamy' texture, I've found that the double boiler method is best. Whisk the polenta into the simmering liquid of choice and then set-up in a double boiler. Cook for several hours, covered tight. Add more liquid as needed.

Edited February 16, 2004 by cjsadler (log)

[Betts]

I like the oven baked polenta 1:5 ratio that Paula Wolfert uses and a big knob of gorgonzola dolce added. It is still creamy when reheated the next day ( and the next after that, if you want to eat all the leftovers)

[Busboy]

The cookbook has disappeared, so the recipe is not exact, but Patrick O'Connel at the Inn at Little Washington sweats chopped garlic in butter, adds and brings to a boil a mixture of roughly euqal parts (guestimating here) cream, milk and water to a boil, with a couple of bay leaves and a dash of hot sauce. I'll defere to those above who knew the proper liquid-polenta ration, I just guess, but 5:1 sounds about right. He then adds polenta and a roughly equal portion of grated parmesan reggiano. Excellent stuff, and looks great served in the cast iron skillet you made it up in.

If you put in a little less liquid, and make it in advance and let it solidigy, it's great fried up just before dinner, and either way makes an excellent brekfast, again, fried up just before serving.

[stevea]

I recently purchased stone-ground, unbolted white corn grits. With about a 1:4 grits to liquid ratio, they took an hour to cook and were amazingly creamy.

The yellow corn grits (polenta) available to me locally are listed as stone-ground and degerminated. (not sure if "germination" or "boltedness" are related). With the same liquid to solid ratio, these grits soak up the liquid much quicker and become soft much quicker (10-15 minutes). However, even though soft, they retain a mealiness that is not as satisfying as the creamy white grits. To cook the yellow grits longer without setting up solid, I would have to add much more liquid. Being relatively impatient, I have not done this. (The white grits are basically inedible until they cook for an hour, so I have no choice.)

I have also found that using 100% milk or cream results in a "chalkiness" I find unpleasant. YMMV.

[Cookboy]

Polenta Disaster.

I was cooking dinner for my fiance's family and tried to shortcut the polenta with one of those tube products. Usually, I like to make it from scratch, but got rushed and...wow. It was a lumpy tasteless mass. I was able to correct it with the blender, white truffle oil, s&p, and some fresh parm. It wasn't the best, but it worked and I actually got a compliment on it. Go figure.

Bottom line. The tube sux, but if you get stuck with it, you can make it go.

That's just my two cents.

[chickenlady]

In the Balthazar cookbook, the recipe for creamy polenta calls for mascarpone cheese. Lots of it.

[Toasted]

A chef once showed me the simple secret to her famous creamy polenta: use half heavy cream and half whole milk. This makes incredibly creamy and delicious polenta (the stock/milk combo isn't as good). You may be nervous about adding that much heavy cream, but I know from taste that alot of restaurants use it in their grits and polenta (seems like heavy cream is often the 'secret' to restaurant dishes). Not healthy, of course, but it does make it really good.

Edit: Also, to get a 'creamy' texture, I've found that the double boiler method is best. Whisk the polenta into the simmering liquid of choice and then set-up in a double boiler. Cook for several hours, covered tight. Add more liquid as needed.

That's basically my recipe for soft polenta although I don't cook it that long. It's

always delicious. This weekend I went to what is "supposed to be" an upscale

Italian restaurant and had the most bland, tasteless polenta. I think they just

boiled up some cornmeal and water and dumped it into a mold hoping that the

mushroom puree would save it. It didn't. Very disappointing because polenta

isn't that hard to make.

[gfweb]

Just got back from a trip where I had the smoothest corniest-tasting polenta I've had. Silky smooth.

 

I can figure out how to get the increased corn taste...corn juice.

 

But I can't figure out how to get it so creamy.  Is there a particular type to buy?

 

Or do you zizz the hell out of it?

[AlaMoi]

there's fine / medium / coarse grind of corn meal available.

see

http://www.bobsredmill.com/fine-grind-cornmeal.html

 

for silky, you want the finest grind you can get.

[gfweb]

Thanks, AM, but I wonder if t hat is all there is involved. There wasn't even a hint of granularity. But having never made the fine grind, who am I to talk?

 

While we are at it, is instant polenta ever good?  I've never used it either.

Edited November 22, 2015 by gfweb (log)

[AlaMoi]

..that is all . . .

 

the fine stuff is all but "flour" - using cream vs water will make for richer, or adding melted butter, etc.

 

however, the biggest influence is the grind methinks - coarse is about on par with the chunky consistency of grits - which is actually my preference, but that's just chewy-me....  I make it, pour it in a salmon can to set up (tapered, comes out easy...) then slice & fry up for breakfast.

 

polenta as a bed / side indeed can indeed require a different handling of 'the base ingredient'

[Okanagancook]

I think constant stirring also helps to get the polenta creamy.

[kayb]

I cook grits, rather than polenta, but when I want them particularly creamy, I add a chunk of cream cheese.

[Katie Meadow]

I agree that a relatively fine grind Italian polenta is a good place to start. What exactly do you mean by creamy? That could mean silky smooth, but also rich and tasting of high fat dairy. Usually I make a coarser grind of cornmeal packaged as grits, but in a pinch, if I want a fine grind, I just grind it some more. How long you cook it and the ratio of grain to liquid is also going to make a difference.

 

One important thing is to avoid lumps at the beginning by making sure you shake your polenta gradually into the  boiling water, either thru your fingers or through a strainer, and stir well, not only in the beginning but throughout the process. I usually add milk, not cream, but I don't see how adding cream would not make the end result "creamier." I sometimes add a bit of creme fraiche near the end, but the possibilities are endless: chèvre, various cheeses, etc. I've seen recipes that only use milk or dairy, but the ones I like start with water, then add the milk or cream in a couple of increments as the polenta or grits cooks down.

[gfweb]

Thanks, all.

 

By creamy, I meant silky smooth without a hint of granularity like regular polenta has.

 

I've ordered some find ground stuff from Amazon and will report back.

[PassionateAmateur]

Most absurdly creamy polenta recipe I ever came across was from the Scarpetta Cookbook (Scott Conant, 2013), and looking at the formula, I assume the difference is the HUGE increase in liquid vbolume and simmering time, compared to "normal" polenta recipes.  This is not a typo: two quarts dairy per one cup of polenta.  It is bad-ass crazy good.

 

1 cup coarse polenta

4 cups heavy cream

4 cups whole milk

1 TBSP kosher salt

4 TBSP unsalted butter

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

 

(paraphrased instructions for sake of brevity) :

Use a 5 or 6 quart pot.  Over med-high heat, warm cream and milk, whisk in salt until very frothy and hot, keep whisking while slowly raining the polenta into mixture.  Continue whisking about 8 minutes until granules swell, switch to wooden spoon to stir about 5 more minutes.  Turn down to medium until begins to bubble evenly.  Reduce to low, cover tightly, stir every 10-15 minutes until cooked through and liquid reduced, about 1.5 hours.  Just before serving stir in butter and cheese

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Just got back from a trip where I had the smoothest corniest-tasting polenta I've had. Silky smooth.

 

I can figure out how to get the increased corn taste...corn juice.

 

But I can't figure out how to get it so creamy.  Is there a particular type to buy?

 

Or do you zizz the hell out of it?

 

Like kayb, I also cook grits and not polenta.

 

I think the difference is the milled corn we use has been nixtamalized, which releases more nutrients from the grain.

 

I just hate gritty grits. If you follow the instructions on the package that is what you get every time. For non-instant white hominy grits, they say to bring 3 cups water to boil, add a little salt, and slowly stir in a cup of grits, cover and simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Bull! No wonder they got their name, not to mention the lump factor.

 

I cook white hominy grits in 4 cups salted water to one cup grits, and you have to stir like crazy while adding the grits in a slow stream. Then continue stirring like crazy for five minutes, mashing any lumps against the side of your pot. A sturdy sort of flat slotted spoon helps with the task. Some batches of grain lump worse than others, and I'm on a 4 pound batch that's the worst lumper I've ever seen, and I am old. 

 

After the delumping process, one can actually reduce heat to really low, cover and continue cooking other stuff, but you must still stir every couple minutes or so especially at first or it will lump and stick. The longer you cook and stir, the creamier they become, like risotto, sort of. I always start the grits first when cooking up a meal that includes them. They require all my attention at first, and only become creamier with time. You may need to add more water, depending on your grain and how long you cook them.

 

I had my first grits that I really enjoyed here:

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pams-farm-house-raleigh

 

Their great creamy grits are a by-product of having to hold them for service for hours, but it taught me how to make great creamy grits at home. It is not a fast food, but it is a wonderful food, and like good risotto doesn't rely on a lot of adulterant fats to achieve creaminess.

 

That said, I do so enjoy a nice pat of good butter on top of creamy grits, but it is not a substitute for developing the starch like in a good risotto.

[LindaK]

The best—and easiest—way to get great polenta is to take Paula Wolfert’s advice and cook it in the oven.  Oil your casserole, add water (and milk if you wish), polenta, some salt, a bit of butter, and bake at 350F for about 50 minutes. No stirring necessary.  Really.

 

The long, slow cooking makes the creamiest polenta ever.  Since trying this, I’ve rarely made it on the stove and when I have, I’ve regretted it, it’s never as good.

 

I first saw the instructions in Wolfert’s cookbook The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen but you can also find it here.