Here are two Nashville chefs with two very different takes on creamed corn. One is smoky, spicy and sweet, and leans on both fresh and canned creamed corn. The other is a creamy, cheesy, citrusy take on a Mexican street food staple.
Pat Martin's creamed charred corn
This corn dish comes from Nashville's Pat Martin, the owner of Hugh Baby's and Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint. As befitting a barbecue legend, it marries the flavor of the grill with a nostalgic homespun dish Martin ate even as a picky child.
"I loved my Maw-Maw’s creamed corn because it was sweet," he said. "She would always use Silver Queen corn, but you could use Peaches and Cream or another local variety that’s in season, preferably a white corn (which, on a side note, makes by far the best corn 'likker')."
Here, Martin adds jalapenos for a little heat, but you can skip them if you're feeding sensitive kids or adults.
Reprinted with permission from Life Of Fire: Mastering The Arts of Pit-Cooked Barbecue, The Grill, And The Smokehouse.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 4 ears corn, shucked
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 2 cups canned cream-style corn
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
Prepare a hot grill. Clean and oil the grill grates well.
Rub the corn and jalapenos with oil and grill, turning frequently, until well charred all over, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside until cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile, in a medium cast-iron skillet, combine the canned corn, sugar, butter, salt and 2 tablespoons water, and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, the water has been absorbed and the mixture is heated through, about 7 minutes.
To cut the corn from the cob, stand the ear up vertically and with your chef’s knife slice downward to the cutting board, making sure you are only removing the kernels from the cob. (Even better, cut the corn over a pie dish, as this will catch all the kernels for you.) Remove the stems and seeds from the jalapenos and finely dice.
Add the corn and jalapeños to the creamed corn, and stir to combine and heat through. Serve.
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Julio Hernandez's elote-style creamed corn
Julio Hernandez is a Mexican-born, Nashville-based chef with a fantastic food truck and tortilla shop, both called Maiz de la Vida, or "corn is life."
Hernandez is part of a growing number of chefs drawing attention to what he calls the "maiz revolution," turning fresh, heirloom corn into tortillas and tamales.
Here, he offers a riff Mexican street corn fit for the Thanksgiving table. It features fresh corn and plenty of cotija, a salty aged Mexican cheese, and it's served in a bowl for easy access.
Growing up, Hernandez said, he never had elote off the cob.
"It simply isn't an option," he said. "You get a corn cob with a stick and all the fixings, and I wore my elote mustache proudly."
Esquites is the Mexican version of corn off the cob, but it's made with cooked dried corn, epazote, onion and chilies, Hernandez said.
Even though he didn't grow up celebrating Thanksgiving, elote off the cob has become a go-to holiday dish.
"I do it for my wife and kids," he said. "Our Thanksgiving spread is very traditional (and) street corn is probably the craziest dish at the table so far. This year I might sneak in tamales, but they will be spicy."
Serves: 6-8 people
Ingredients
For the street corn:
- 6 ears fresh corn
- ¾ cup elote mayo (recipe follows)
- ⅓ cup cotija cheese
- Fresh lime to finish
For the elote mayo:
- ½ cup Duke's Mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon granulated onion
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne (skip for milder corn)
- Few twists from a black pepper mill
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
Instructions
For the mayo: Mix all ingredients. Leftover mayo will also work on fish tacos or even a sandwich.
For the corn: Shuck fresh corn and toast over an open fire to remove corn silk. Shave corn from the cob and boil in water for 10 minutes. Strain corn and be sure to remove any excess water as it will make a big difference. Warm street corn is better than watered-down mayonnaise and cheese.
Place corn in a bowl. Add ¾ cup of elote mayo. Mix well. Garnish with cotija cheese and lime and more smoked paprika if desired. (Editor's note: You can add salt to taste, but I find it's not necessary.)
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