Take corn on the cob in gourmet directions. How about a composed butter with Southwestern flair? One dish scallop and corn sauté could be what's for dinner tonight. Tips for using the cobs.
Coming into full corn season, it’s fun to pull out all the old seasonal favorite recipes. Try these three corn on the cob, and corn off the cob recipes, including easy one-dish meals using the cob, the kernels and the sweet corn milk. Everything but the husks are covered here.
Composed Butter for Corn on the Cob
The Silver Palate New Basics Cookbook was a gift from a friend years ago. She suggested the time had come to retire the stuffed mushroom recipe that had becom a standby for law school potluck dinners. The New Basics Cookbook is sort of 1980’s meets Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking, (see Happy 75th Birthday Joy of Cooking). No squirrel recipes, but lots of good basic tips and recipes that any newish-but-competent cook can master easily. In fact, the original was so tattered, a replacement copy recently replaced it.
This compound butter recipe is an example of the book’s strengths. Remember, this cookbook came out long before we’d heard of Rick Bayless or corn with cotija cheese. So grilling corn in the husks with a spicy butter was pretty new. Near the recipe, there’s a side bar about marinades and rubs, as well as one on grilling tips. This might be a good book for your college students who relish the idea of setting up their own first kitchen.
This was dubbed “Jackie’s Better-than-Sex-Butter” by a chef at a July 4th BBQ years ago. Why argue? Based on the New Basics’ Albuquerque Butter which many claim as their own, two additional ingredients here kick it up a notch.
Jackie’s “Better than Sex Butter”
- 1 stick (8 TBSP) unsalted butter at room temp
- 2 TBSP minced scallions
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
- Lots of fresh ground black pepper
- half a chipotle pepper minced, along with 1/2 tsp of adobo sauce
- zest of half a large lime or more to taste
Combine all ingredients, taste, correct seasonings if necessary.
- For more butter sauces and compound butters see Butter Sauces: Beurre Blanc, Monte, Noisette.
Corn on the Cob, Corn off the Cob
Preparing corn on the cob couldn’t be easier. Most people boil it to death. Quick moist cooking is all it needs, the microwave is perfect for this. Remove the husks and as much of the silk as you can, place corn in a 8X8 microwave safe dish. Add water about 1/2” and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on fresh vegetable setting or even less - about 2-3 minutes depending on the strength of the microwave.
Remove carefully, drain, and enjoy with that killer butter.
Summer in a Skillet - Corn Sauté - To use the corn kernels, try sauteeing with seared scallops, bacon and thyme for an easy one skillet summer meal. Add scallion, red bell pepper and halved cherry tomatoes. The fresh thyme and cracked black pepper are terrific complements to the sweetness of the corn.
What to do with the Cobs
Zipping corn off the cob does not require a new tool. It is not hard if you do two things. Make a flat cut stem for the base, and stand the ear up in a very large bowl. Carefully slice the kernels off the cob and they’ll fall in the bowl. You can do it on a cutting board but it can be hard to collect all the kernels. You may freeze corn kernels as well by blanching, then shocking the ears, first; then stripping them off the cobs and freezing them on sheet trays. Store in zip top bags.
Don’t waste the cobs, they’re full of flavor! You can turn your knife over, dull side against the cob and scrape the sweet, milky juice from the cobs. Place the cobs in water to make a flavorful corn stock. This is a wonderful base for corn chowder or fish chowder. Use all the "milk" or juice from the cobs.
Sweet Corn Stock - Sauté carrots, onions, celery in butter or butter and oil mixture. Deglaze with white wine, Vya Vermouth or Sherry. Add water to pot, sufficient to cover the cobs and then some. Gently boil and Bob’s your Uncle - you now have delicious sweet corn stock.
To make a delicious chowder fry bacon till crisp, remove to paper towel. In pan, sauté cubed potato in bacon fat, add mirepoix, soften. Add corn stock and corn kernels. Place mild white fish on top of soup, cover simmer until fish flakes. You may thicken with beure manie if you like, or simply smash some of the potatoes to thicken.
Corn is:
- high in thiamine, niacin and Vitamin C. It's also rich in phosphorous and potassium.
- a good source of fiber
- low in fat, by itself one cup has only 170 calories, only ten percent of which are fat
Jacqueline Church - Award-winning writer, speaker, teacher on topics at the intersection of gourmet and sustainable food issues.
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