Sweet Corn Chowder – Summer Recipe

 

I have never smelled something so heavenly as onions cooking in salt pork. If there is one thing I learned from this excursion into corn chowder let it be that. A couple weeks ago we went out to celebrate the baptism of Jeff’s Nephew/god child. We ate at a tasty restaurant simply called The Café in Ames, Iowa. The daily specials included corn chowder, which I think everyone at the table ordered and devoured. It was kind of pricy at $6 for an appetizer sized serving.  It’s had me hankering to make my own corn chowder ever since.

I turned to my favorite cookbook, Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe. They have a recipe for corn chowder and it is long and involved. But I trust in their recipes and couldn't stop thinking about that soup and I wanted to make it.

To get the freshest corn we stopped at the road side stand and got ten ears. Then we visited the local butcher to get the salt pork and the grocery store to get whole milk and cream. Then the garden to get parsley and thyme. I have now invested way too much time into just the ingredients and I still have to milk the corn. You heard me right. I said, “milk the corn”. Luckily Cook’s Illustrated had a nice illustration of how to milk the corn and I’ll show you too.

Was the corn chowder worth all the work? A big fat fatty yes! It is the type of chowder that melts in your mouth with the perfect balance of sweet and salty. The depth is incredible. First it’s the sweet corn then the salty pork then the earthy parsley and thyme all in a creamy milky texture. This is the type of recipe that I am going to have to make at least once a summer. It’s awful rich and time consuming for more than that. But you better believe I’ll be looking forward to it every time.

This corn chowder is rich enough that a simple slice of bread and a glass of water is all you need to make a meal. And let’s face it all that cream and pork fat makes it a pretty dense dish.

The ingredients:

Summer Sweet Corn Chowder

10 medium ears of fresh yellow corn, husks and silks removed

2 ounces of salt pork, trimmed of rind and cut in half

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 large onion, preferably Spanish, chopped fine

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth (I used turkey and it was delish)

2 medium red potatoes diced into ¼ inch pieces

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 cup cream

2 cups whole milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Prepare the corn.

 

Cut the kernels off four of the ears of corn. It is easiest to cut the ear in half and then use a chef’s knife to cut downwards along the ear. You don’t want to go so deep that you get any cob, just nice juicy kernels of corn. Set aside, you should have roughly 3 cups.

Milk the remaining six ears and the cobs you cut the kernels off. To do this use the coarsest side of your grater and grate the corn off. Then use the back of your knife to scrape off any remaining pulp and juice. You should have about 2 cups of pulp and corn juice.

 

Step 2: In a heavy deep pan like a Dutch oven or stock pot, sauté the salt pork over medium heat, use a flat spatula to press down on the salt pork to help the fat come out as you cook it for about 10 minutes or until both sides of the pork fat are nice and crackling brown. Reduce the heat to low and then add the butter and onions. Cover and cook until softened about 12 minutes. Remove the salt pork and reserve. Add the minced garlic and sauté one minute. Then you’re going to make a roué by adding the flour and whisking it in. Then slowly add the stock whisking as you go.

Step 3: Add the potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, whole milk, corn pulp and then add back in the salt pork. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the potatoes are almost tender, 8-10 minutes. Now add in the corn kernels and heavy cream and return to a simmer; simmer until the corn kernels are tender yet still slightly crisp, about 5 minutes. Take out the bay leaf and salt pork. Serve with a big smile on your face, because you know this will be the most wonderful corn chowder of the summer!

This post was featured on Two for Tuesdays Blog Hop Vol. 12.