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Southern Kitchen

The flavor of summer: Transform your sweet corn with these rich recipes

Portrait of Mackensy Lunsford Mackensy Lunsford
Southern Kitchen

There's nothing quite like sweet summer corn.

Fortunately, fresh summer corn is abundant in markets right now, and also affordable enough you don't need to grow it at home.

We love it buttered, creamed or grilled, and have rounded up recipes for classic corn pone, creamed corn and spiced Mexican street corn.

But before you get cookin', here are a few tips:

  • Did you know you can cook cobs in the microwave? With just a little prep and three minutes on high heat, you can get juicy, silk-free corn.
  • Corn freezes beautifully. Cut the kernels from the cob and place them in a freezer-quality bag and in the freezer. There's no need to blanch the corn. You can also freeze cooked corn. 
  • To easily cut corn from the cob, break the ear in half. Stand the ear on the cut side and slice kernels from top to bottom. Having two smaller pieces standing upright is easier than trying to cut the kernels from a whole ear. 

Now for the recipes:

Grilled Mexican street corn

Grilled Mexican Street Corn

Serves: 4

Hands On Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 ears yellow corn, shucked
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving

Instructions

Heat a grill over medium-high heat. Place the corn on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

While the corn is cooling, combine the mayonnaise and lime juice in a small bowl. Spread the mayonnaise evenly on the corn, then sprinkle with the cheese and chili powder. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Bacon-studded corn pone

Corn Pone

Hands On Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 3 slices of the best bacon you can find, diced
  • 1 cup fresh corn, removed from the cob (frozen is fine)
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup of whole milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups masa harina 
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 4 tablespoons bacon drippings or lard
  • 1 green onion sliced thin
  • Hot sauce and/or black pepper to taste
  • A few tablespoons of corn oil for shallow frying

Instructions

In a pan or skillet, slowly render the bacon over medium-low heat. Remove and reserve bacon when crisp, also separately reserving the drippings.

Add 4 tablespoons of the bacon drippings to another pan, along with the corn kernels. Cook corn kernels over medium heat for a few minutes, or until translucent. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cream cheese to the warm corn mixture, allowing the cheese to soften. 

In a food processor or blender, puree the corn and cheese mixture, along with the milk and the egg, until relatively smooth. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the masa, salt, green onions and reserved bacon. Add the corn puree and mix together until a moist dough is formed, adding more masa or milk to reach the desired consistency. You'll want your dough to loosely hold together. Season with salt, black pepper and hot sauce to taste. 

Form dough into golf ball-sized balls. Flatten the dough balls so they’re about a half-inch thick.

Pour oil into a sauté pan and, over medium heat, slowly bring the temperature of the oil up to about 350. Add your dough disks to the preheated oil. Sauté until lightly browned and crisp, and drain on paper towels. Do not overcook. The insides should retain some moisture and have a slightly smooth texture that goes nicely with the crispy exterior. 

Serve warm as a side dish, or use a bit of that hot sauce and some mayonnaise mixed together with a squeeze of lime to make a quick sauce. 

Classic creamed corn

Serves: 8

Hands On Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 large jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 8 large ears yellow corn, kernels cut off the cob, or 8 cups thawed frozen corn
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Kosher salt and black pepper

Instructions

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the jalapeño, garlic and thyme, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes.

Add the corn, and continue to cook until the corn is softened and slightly translucent. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the cream has barely thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the thyme.

Transfer half of the corn mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the pureed corn to the skillet with the remaining corn. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

Mackensy Lunsford is the food and culture storyteller for USA TODAY Network's South region and the editor of Southern Kitchen.

Contributing: Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press

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