These corn kernels are cooked within an inch of their life. No, I think they died and went to heaven.I have been on a butter-braise streak, and the latest vegetable to fall under the sway of hot dairy grease is corn.
We always cook corn the frantic way: Boil the water, throw in the corn, remove from heat, fret, worry, are we al dente and cool enough?
Unless water is an ingredient I'm going to eat, I'm off water. No soggying up my veggies. (I probably will have exceptions; not sure yet. Maybe not.)
Two ears of corn, kernels shaved off. Gross, egregious pat of butter. (My diet is fairly Spartan; I can afford to go nuts on butter.) A minced cayenne chili, fresh off the vine. Salt.
Some heat, a pan, a lid. Some time. A half hour. Do not be afraid about the time. You are aiming for caramelization here and there, and you will love it.
Please do this while there's still corn.
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21 comments:
Mmm. This is my kind of Caramel Corn. Nice.
Looks almost as though there were bits of bacon tossed in there....and that would certainly not be amiss, in my estimation. Don't worry about offending this child of the South when you write of long-cooked vegetables. I like them all kinds of ways, and sometimes crave the simmered goodness. (Or, in your case, butter-braised.)
Denise: Isn't it? Go!
Kudzu: No bacon needed. It satisfied.
Wooo... am so doing this! We've been in a corn frenzy lately.
I love corn. Corn on the cob, corn cut from the cob, plain or buttered corn, corn pudding, creamed corn, roasted corn, grilled corn, boiled corn, grits, tortillas, fried. The only 2 corny things I dislike are corn syrup and the corn ethanol added to gas.
My diet is the opposite of Spartan and I still go with oodles of butter. I require the padding as I keep bumping into things :)
I get a similar effect by grilling our corn on the cob. Not as buttery (although you can add that later), but caramelized. So delicious is fresh corn in any iteration.
Little Pots: I hope you give it a try. It's candy!
Lannae: Then we are batting for the same team, with huge cobs. (Don't forget popcorn.)
Mouse: You have a medical reason for eating lots of butter. :)
Zoomie: Some summers I casually go, "corn? been there."
That is very wrong.
Oh boy - butter, butter and more butter. But if you ever want to try olive oil OR substitute butter for olive oil, try out the recipes on this website:
http://english.turkishcookbook.com/2005/03/turkish-olive-oil-dish-recipes.html
Binnir's Turkish cookbook website is one of my favorite places to find food recipes that remind me of Turkey (well, DUH) but the better (not butter) parts of the Middle East - food, music, art and dancing, and SOME aspects of it's fascinating history.
Nancy: Oh, SO grateful for that link.
Olive oil is my other secret cooking agent, lately, and I totally get it. Isn't food great?
(Secretly clanging finger cymbals now. That's not Turkish?)
Clang those cymbals, rotate those hips and never mind who invented belly dancing. That controversy could start a war!
I want Yellow corn dagnabbit. not your white, or bi-colored. I want some damn Yellow Corn.
Nancy: Well, I got the hips for it! :)
Chilebrown: You're not finding yellow corn? Cranky was all upset because he couldn't find bicolor corn (white and yellow). This might have been Full Belly Farms.
Hey, it looks like Mark Bittman over at the NY Times is jumping on the butter-braising bandwagon:
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/getting-that-grilled-corn-feeling-indoors/
I wonder if he's been reading I'm Mad and I Eat?
The corn, in my opinion, is the best of the butter-braised lot so far.
Having JUST recently grilled corn for the first time (shame on me!), I have to say this butter treatment is quite appealing.
I'm definitely trying it....
thanks!
Robert: I think Bittman installed a spycam in my kitchen. Looks pretty good. And the wonderful secret is that the butter gets cooked!
Sally: I haven't grilled corn much myself, but that's more a function of never having the grill fired up.
Have a nice plate of drippy, brown kernels.
I'm out of butter, so just tried this with olive oil. It really does transform the corn. Very tasty!
Oh yes. Popcorn! Indeed, my favorite snack food, especially the locally grown popcorn.
Denise: You just taught me a thing or two! Thanks.
Lannae: Local popcorn. Envy.
I tried this tonight as part of a bigger recipe, sort of a garnish if you will. Holy corn crackita!
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