Chophouse Creamed Corn
By Cheryl Forberg
Today’s June recipe is adapted from a popular side dish of Cameron Mitchell, a talented chef who launched his career at a successful bistro in Columbus, Ohio. Not only a highly creative chef, but he also excels at creating and managing new restaurants and now has more than fifty restaurants throughout the country, including 16 Ocean Prime restaurants – where steak and seafood shine. His side dishes are stars as well. His Chophouse Cream Corn recipe has been published widely and has been demonstrated on The Today Show as well as many other media outlets.
As summer is here and barbecue season is upon us, I decided to spread the word on how to make Chef Cameron’s amazing recipe at home now that sweet corn is at its peak.
Many of us adore sweet corn, but what a lot of people do not know is that it makes a dramatic difference in flavor if your corn is cooked very soon after harvesting. Once the sweet, delicious kernels are removed from the cob, the sugars inside immediately begin turning to starch, and the flavor and texture drop dramatically.
Yet another chef’s tip is that there is a lot of concentrated corn flavor and sweetness left in the cob after those sweet, juicy kernels are removed. Chefs in the know never toss the cobs. When making corn chowder, for example, the fresh corn cobs are typically tossed in the chowder pot for a short boil to ensure that all the creamy corn milk goodness is added to the pot, resulting in a rich and very flavorful chowder.
I took the liberty of adding this corn cob trick to Chef Cameron’s cream corn recipe, by deglazing and reducing the white wine with the corn cobs after the kernels were removed. This results in ultra corn richness and a delicious side dish that you will probably be making again and again. Enjoy!
Chophouse Creamed Corn
Ingredients
¼ cup unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp. peeled and minced Melissa’s fresh shallots
2 lbs. Melissa’s fresh Corn on the Cob, reserving the cobs (cut off the cobs, approximately 12-15 ears, about 8 cups).
2 cups dry white wine
1 tsp. white sugar
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. White Pepper
1 Tbsp. thinly sliced fresh chives
Instructions
Break corn cobs into three-or four-inch pieces and add to a large saucepan. Pour in the white wine, bring to a simmer, and reduce for about five minutes or until the wine is reduced by almost 75% to 1/2 cup. Using a fine strainer, strain the reduced wine into a liquid measuring cup and add 1 teaspoon of sugar, and stir till dissolved. Set aside. Discard corn cobs.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and melt butter. Add shallots and sauté till just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add corn kernels and sauté until just tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Do not overcook, as they will be cooked later.
Add 1/2 cup of sweetened deglazed white wine and cream. Reduce the liquid by about half over low heat.
Season with salt and white pepper. Garnish with thinly sliced chives.
