Corn Chowder

My attention has been resolutely focused on freshly picked tomatoes for the past few months.  Can you blame me?  I dream about tomato season all through the days of Winter, counting all the ways I'll eat them.  But, I also long for sweet corn.  There are so many times I want to sink my teeth into a nice fat ear of corn, or cut off the sweet kernals and cook them in butter. Last Fall, I bought Jasper White's 50 Chowders and promised myself I would make his recipe for corn chowder as soon as the sweet corn appeared.  Well, the sweet corn season is almost over and I still haven't made chowder.  So, this last Friday, armed with late corn from a small produce stand, I finally made my corn chowder.

In his book, Jasper White states that only yellow corn is good enough for a proper chowder, so knew I was thrust into the great Corn Controversy:  Which is better, yellow or white corn?  Many sweet corn fanatics are unyielding over the merits of yellow versus white corn. My husband was born and raised in Illinois and he will only abide yellow corn, with large full kernels. None of that white corn for him.  My mother preferred white corn, with smaller kernels. I'm flexible.  I spent periods of my life eating lovely white corn, including the Silver Queen my mom grew.  But, I also love yellow corn. Actually, the most important thing for me is that it's freshly picked and not a super sweet variety that tastes like it's full of syrup.  I would have used yellow corn for this recipe, mainly because it looks better in the chowder.  But I could only find white corn.  No matter, it was sweet, fresh, and full of corn flavor.

The recipe is pretty simple.  Bacon, onions, red bell peppers, thyme, cumin and turmeric are sauteed for about 10 minutes.  The turmeric lends a faint yellow color. And the cumin is perfect with the sweet corn taste.  I used a bit more than the recipe calls for, because I enjoy cumin.

Stock (infused with corn "cream" scraped from the ears after the corn was cut off), the corn, and diced potatoes are added and cooked for about 10 minutes.

The recipe calls for a weak cornstarch solution added to the chowder, which gave me pause. I hate overly thick restaurant chowders, loaded with cornstarch.  But, since I intended to substitue milk for most of the cream called for in the recipe, I added the cornstarch.  To my relief, the constarch added just a touch of texture to the broth, barely noticeable.  I love cream, but reduced it from 1 cup to 1/4 cup, along with 3/4 cup of 1% milk.  The chowder tasted very creamy to me--but I normally drink 1% milk, so any cream I add to a recipe gives it a rich taste. 

The finished chowder was just what I had hoped it would be since first reading the recipe last year.  My only complaint is the portion sizes in the recipe. Once again they are absurd.   It might serve 4 people small portions as a first course. And believe me, those people will complain that they want more chowder.   Bob and I had a bowl apiece as our main course.  As far as I'm concerned--this is a two person recipe, unless you serve lots of corn bread along with it.  I know. Corn bread with corn chowder sounds like overkill. Trust me--it works.  And I must add that even though the chowder contained the dreaded white corn, Bob loved it. 

Corn Chowder   (Jasper White, 50 Chowders)

3 medium ears fresh yellow or bicolor corn  (or white)

4 ounces slab (unsliced) bacon, rind removed and cut into 1/3-inch dice (or use some diced thick cut, sliced bacon)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion (7 to 8 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 large red bell pepper (6 to 8 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 to 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped (1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1 pound Yukon Gold, Maine, PEI, or other all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 cups chicken stock or chicken broth

Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

1 cup heavy cream--or 3/4 cup 1% milk and 1/4 cup heavy cream

Garnish:  2 tablespoons minced fresh chives or thinly sliced scallions

Method

1. Husk the corn. Carefully remove most of the silk by hand and then rub the ears with a towel to finish the job. Cut the kernels from the cobs and place in a bowl. You should have about 2 cups. Using the back of your knife, scrape down the cobs and add the milky substance that oozes out to the corn kernels.

2. Heat a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced bacon. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is crisp and golden brown. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.

3. Add the butter, onion, bell pepper, thyme, cumin, and turmeric and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 8 minutes, until the onion and pepper are tender but not browned.

4. Add the corn kernels, potatoes, and stock, turn up the heat, cover, and boil vigorously for about 10 minutes. Some of the potatoes will have broken up, but most should retain their shape. Use the back of your spoon to smash a bit of the corn and potatoes against the side of the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and season the chowder with salt and pepper.

5. Stir the cornstarch mixture and slowly pour it into the pot, stirring constantly. As soon as the chowder has come back to a boil and thickened slightly, remove from the heat and Stir in the cream. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.

6. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don't let it boil. Ladle into cups or bowls and sprinkle with the chopped chives.  Serves 4, as a first course.

Comments

[Rosa]

Your chowder looks very fine! That's something I should try...

[Jeff]

How the heck can you beat a good corn chowder??? YUM!

[Kate]

I'm with Jeff.....major comfort food! That looks MAHHHH-velous!

[Glenna]

Oh yeah, come to Mama. That's the ticket!

[Shannon]

Okay, Sher, this is freaky. I just made corn chowder with bacon LAST NIGHT FOR DINNER. I am totally serious. My recipe had corn, fennel, potato, yellow squash, bacon, cream, cayenne pepper, and fresh thyme. We're leading parallel lives!

As for white vs. yellow corn, I love both, for different reasons. Have you had the corn that is both white and yellow? That was for sale all around here about a month ago and man, was it good!

[steven]

I've been thinking about corn chowder for the whole corn season and it's chilly and rainy enough today to make it. The corn around here tends to be the bi-color type and I think I'm going to toss some chunks of halibut and grilled shrimp into my chowdah as well.

[Karina]

There's a hint of fall in the air this morning. Chowder would be perfect. Hmmm... [Beautiful colors!]

[ann]

you know, i never think of making corn chowder in the summer, its so intrinsically linked to winter in my memory
but we always used frozen sweet corn that my mom or i cut off the ear, probably not exactly as delicious, but nearly :-)

[kristi]

Yum, yum! Me thinks this would ship well, no?
;)

[sher]

Rosa,

I hope you do. It's very comforting, as well as good to eat.

Jeff,

I can't think of anything to beat it, except for another chowder...maybe! The cookbook has 50 chowders in it and some of them I have to fix!

Kate,

Thanks! I sure enjoyed it!

Glenna,

It backed it's bags and is on it's way to you. It's walking the whole way, so it might take a while :)

Shannon,

Uh oh! I hear Twilight Zone music in the background. This is eerie. :) Your chowder sounds yummy. Yes, I've had that kind of corn and it's very nice. A good solution for people who prefer one or the other!

Steven,

Yum, that sounds like a great chowder. I almost made a recipe from the cookbook for corn chowder with salmon and fresh peas. It sure looked good.

Karina,

Yes, we are getting cooler here too. Soup and stews and chowder...ahhh!

Ann,

I agree. I usually make it in the Fall and Winter too. But, fresh corn right off the cob is so marvelous, I had to do it now. I made a lot of corn soup in the winter and it was good. But, I could tell the difference with this corn.

Kristi!!!!!!

It's so good to see a comment from you! If I could I'd send you a big kettle of chowdah! I'm sure it would give you lots of energy for changing diapers and nursing. :):) Give Bella a big kiss for me.

[Christine]

I've been seriously slacking in the comments department! This chowder looks just wonderful! Jasper White's book is one that I've had on my list for a while. Guess I'll have to place an order. I did just order the Mustards Grill book on your recommendation.
Your photos for this post really convey what you did at each phase of preparation. Love the ears of corn photo. Good going!

[kross-eyed kitty]

Oh My...this sounds delicious!
I happen to have 4 ears of corn waiting to be made into corn chowder...I'm going to use your recipe!
Thanks!

[Meagan]

I love Corn Chowder.It reminds me of my grandmother because she always used to make it for me, I love it.:)

[Meagan]

I love Corn Chowder.It reminds me of my grandmother because she always used to make it for me, I love it.:)