Preview: Butter Baked Corn

We had this last night for dinner it was so yummy. We bought a whole bunch of corn on the weekend and I was wondering what I was going to do with it all.

I will make this again, for sure! Hopefully next time I will end up with some leftovers.

Here we are in the height of corn season in BC and I had forgotten about this simple unbelievable way to serve fresh corn. My mother-in-law thought I put a lot of effort into making this...if she only knew.

I went back to my local corn guy today and bought 2 more dozen to cream and put into the deep freeze for the dog days of winter.

Hi, This recipe seems very delicious and I'm willing to try them right away!!! I just have one question, it seems stupid though.. is the corn cooked like corn on the cob or is it raw fresh ,,, I know you say its Fresh but it looks very yellow in the video for raw corn. BTW am still new at the cooking thing :)

The corn is raw, not cooked. It only gets cooked once it goes in the oven in the casserole dish. Cheers!

Thank you soo much for the reply :) Im really looking forward to trying this recipe.. wish me luck!!

You are most welcome Aziza, but no luck needed just good corn :-)

Hope you enjoy it, it is a delicious one!

Would'nt this dish be just as good if can corn was used?

No this dish would not really work using canned corn. Fresh corn with all of it's juices and starches are what make this dish so wonderful. Canned corn would be watery and it would lack the depth of flavor that this dish has. Of course that's not to say that you couldn't try it, just don't expect miracles from the canned corn. Cheers!

"During corn season, take some time to cream a whole bunch of corn; then portion and freeze it raw in flat packs."

"Flat packs"? Do you mean something like freezer bags?

(Also, I read another recipe for this on the web site of the company that makes corn creamers. They recommend stirring the dish half way through baking. Comments?

You may want to watch the video for this recipe as it does show us using freezer bags. There is also a drill-down attached to the recipe in step one called "Freezing Corn" and in this video we show you exactly what we mean and what we did.

As for whether or not you want to stir it during cooking that is up to you I suppose. I do not stir it as I love the cruncher or slightly browned edges that are formed from not stirring.

Hope this helps to clear things up - cheers!

I DID watch the video for the recipe. What I didn't watch was the "Related Tips & Techniques" for freezing. Now I have. Thanks.

"2 tsp Kosher salt (1 tsp table salt)"

How much sea salt? 1 tsp as well?

It depends on the type of salt you have and the size of the crystals and their weight. Sea salt is generally heavier than kosher salt so I would suggest using 1 tsp sea salt. Cheers!

Is it necessary to blanch the corn first if you plan to freeze it?

I made it last night and it was amazing. A couple of points...creaming the corn was not as difficult as I anticipated. It actually wasn't difficult at all, and a bit therapeutic, I might say. A tip from the instructions that came with my creamer was very helpful. It suggested laying the creamer across the bowl (not in the bowl), and using an improvised backstop (a wall) to anchor it. This worked well on my counter.

I did a full recipe (6 cobs) to freeze (in a flat pack!), and made a partial recipe (4 cobs) that fit in an 8x8 pyrex dish. After 45 minutes, the edges were brown and the corn was bubbling, but the top wasn't brown. Next time I might use the broiler for the last few minutes.

Try it!

(Yvonne - you wouldn't blanch before freezing. Remember, the resulting corn after using the creamer is not whole kernels...it's a mash, so you couldn't blanch that.)

First off, WOW. I made the recipe tonight and was thoroughly impressed. It's so much better than the traditional way with eggs and crackers and such. It was really amazing.

I've called and looked all over for a corn creamer. I finally called a locally owned cook shop that I just found while searching for the creamer and they said they had several! I go to the farmers' market every Saturday and picked up 2 dozen ears of corn in anticipation of freezing some creamed for the winter(and some tomatillos for the salsa verde, also yum).

I showed up afterwards at the shop. The owner shows me the corn creamer. It was a cutter :-( What was I going to do with 2 dozen ears of corn when there's only 2 of us. I looked at the video of the corn creamer and got to thinking. I pulled out a salad fork and just started raking the corn lengthways. I then used the side of the fork to scrape out the juice and meat.

It worked!! It was a little messy. It splattered some, but I got better as I went along. I did it in the sink to reduce the cleanup. I now have 5 bags of creamed corn in the freezer for the winter and will probably do some more next week.

I may order a 'real' creamer online, but my handy fork will do me just fine until it gets here. Thanks for the inspiration.

Jeff

Way to improvise! I'm going to try this next time as well. Cheers!

Great work, Jeff. I was thinking that there must have been a way to make creamed corn before the invention of the corn creamer. You figured it out!

You mentioned "the traditional way with eggs and crackers". Haven't heard of that and I wonder if it's a regional variation. Whereabouts do you live?

I've been thinking a lot about this recipe. One idea I had was to use the broiler for the last few minutes, as mine didn't really brown on top. Also, single serving dishes (ramekins?) strike me as a good idea.

Thoughts?

I live in Ohio. Some call it scalloped corn and some call it creamed.

Hey Gang, Made this tonight for a group BBcue. A huge hit. Thanks!

This is the best creamed corn ever. I did not have a corn creamer, so I cut the kernals about 1/3 down with a sharp knife and scraped out the milk. I don't know if it was as creamy as the original recipe, but it sure was delicious! I have ordered a corn creamer through Amazon and will try this recipe many times again. My family loves it.

I too couldn't fine a corn creamer in our local kitchen stores (short of a mult-purpose cutter/creamer at $60+ >no thanks), but have been dying to try this recipe before corn season ends.
So, out came the food mill. Cutting the kernels off the cob,a few turns in the mill with its coarsest grater, accomplished the task with very little fuss (read mess).
The end result was absolutely delicious.
>Would serving it on/with plain white rice be too much starch?

Donald you could serve it with white rice if you like. I usually still serve a starch with this dish when I make it. Cheers!

I would like to make this for Xmas Eve dinner. I have checked with Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma, and Sur La Table. None of these high-end kitchen specialty stores sell a "corn creamer." (I had similar trouble with finding a "gnocchi paddle"...none of these stores carry this either.)

Where did everybody buy their corn creamer (and, if you know, gnocchi paddle)?

I just bought mine in a little kitchen store, and I've seen it elsewhere. You could try online, or the alternative methods suggested above.

What city are you in?

Sorry, just clicked your link and see you're in Illinois. Just asked on the off-chance you lived in Toronto and I could tell you in what store I bought mine.

:-) I guess I will have to get one off of Amazon...it seems they have one. Thank you!

ATK did a review on corn strippers, and their fave was the Oxo Good Grips one, that's the one with the little cup to catch the kernels. I bought one, and it works great.

Oxo--that's a great idea! I am going to Bed Bath and Beyond today...I bet I will find it there...and I can use a coupon!!! Thanks for the GREAT idea!

Make sure it's a creamer, and not just a stripper!

You are right--he says "stripper" above, not creamer! Thank you for catching that!

after stripping the corn from the cob, you can use a spoon to scrape the remaining 'cream' off of the cob.

A mandolin slicer will work too by the way

A proper corn creamer, in effect, pierces the kernels, then "milks" the "cream" out of them. The alternate methods mentioned above (cutting off the kernels, then "milking" the cob), will result in a different dish. The kernels will be more intact, with lots of skin. The creamer results in a lot of the skin being left on the cob.

Read Jeff W's innovative, low tech method on the previous page. No creamer/cutter/stripper/mandolin required!

I hadn't actually watched the video, the picture just looked like a recipe for cornbread with whole corn kernels. You're right, for this recipe a stripper or mandolin just wouldn't do.

Looks great I might just get one of those creamers, or try the low tech approach :)

I experimented with this dish in the summer, during corn season, while my wife was out of town. I froze a couple of batches for a surprise winter dish. Canned creamed corn is a comfort food for her (which we have maybe once a year). I'm hoping this dish will blow her mind.)

My only problem is, while reviewing the recipe and baking instructions, I'm not sure whether I added the salt before I froze it. Hmmm, I guess I'll just taste it cold and see if I can tell.

Salting should be done just before baking the corn. Cheers!

Would a cheese grater do the trick?

I have not tried it myself but you could always give it a try. I would recommend trying it on a grater that has pretty big holes so you don't completely disintegrate the corn. Good luck and feel free to let us know how it goes. Cheers!

Check out Jeff W's low-tech method on the previous page. It's hard to imagine a cheese grater working. Good luck!

I found a corn creamer through Amazon. It just arrived this week so I am making this tonight as a side dish to accompany strip loin steaks and mashed potatoes. I sampled a tiny bit of the raw creamed corn before popping it in the oven and it was wonderfully sweet! I'm eager to see how everyone enjoys this when its nicely baked and caramelized.

We creamed a bunch of fresh corn recently. I discovered an amazing dish using the end product. I sweat a finely diced onion (whole) in a little olive oil, added a couple of cups of creamed corn, then lots of freshly chopped cilantro, chillies and tomato concasse. Lastly, I added some freshly cooked spaghetti noodles (voila - mexican pasta). It was delicious. :-)

I've seen mixed reviews for corn creamers on line and have just about settled on using a knife. Is there a good corn creamer out there on Amazon or will a knife suffice?

This is the one I got, and it works very well.

http://leemfgco.com/Item/Corn-Cutter-Stainless-Steel

It just happened to be the only one a local kitchen supplies store carried.

D

Just ordered the wooden one via amazon. We'll see how it works out!

I searched Amazon and many of these corn creamers seem to get pretty good reviews.

I do recommend trying a corn creamer as the results are quite different. They rip through the corn, rather than just slicing off whole kernels of corn. This is what creates the desired creaminess. Cheers!