Corn Chowder

This past weekend I was given a dozen ears of sweet corn. Which, for one person, is quite a bit of corn. You see, my husband and daughter are both in the “can take it or leave it” camp when it comes to corn. After all, I don’t think eating corn on the cob is really an Irish thing. At least, in my 18 years of traveling to Ireland, I’ve never been served corn by my in-laws or a restaurant.

I on the other hand, love corn. We ate a lot of corn on the cob when I was growing up. It was the one veggie nearly the entire family could get on board with. We’d all sit around the table with our ears and knobs of butter until not a kernel could be found between the six of us.

I would say in general, Oregon sweet corn comes in second to fresh Iowa sweet corn. I mean, Iowa is the gold standard. However, my viewpoint changed this past weekend.. There is a local farmer near my parents in Douglas County, Oregon that is producing some of the most amazing sweet corn I’ve ever had. It is definitely giving Iowa corn a run for the money. It is so sweet and so rich in flavor. And those in the know are trying to get their hands on it as quick as it comes out of the field. I am told that people are driving 15-20 miles to get it and it is selling out as soon as it hits the stores.

So when I was offered a dozen gorgeous ears of this summer gold, I wasn’t about to turn them down. Yet, I also realize that fresh corn has a pretty short shelf life and that is a lot of corn for one person to eat in a couple days!

I started thinking about what I could do, beyond steaming. Of course the first thing that came to mind was Corn Chowder. The simple cream-based soup would really showcase the flavor of this year’s amazing crop. Plus it would easily burn through a few ears of corn!

As I started going through recipes for Corn Chowder, and pulling out elements I liked from different recipes, I started wondering what its history was. Where did it come from? How long has Corn Chowder been around? Everyone talks about seafood chowders, but you seldom hear people discuss Corn Chowder. However, in my research I discovered there are canned Corn Chowders available in the soup aisle of supermarkets. Who knew?! Clearly, I have never bought one!

I also learned that the first documentation of Corn Chowder dates back to 1884 and it is credited to Mary Lincoln of the Boston Cooking School. However, nobody knows for sure if Mary invented it or if it was around longer.

Corn Chowder is relatively unchanged since 1884. At its most basic level, it is made from corn, onion, celery, milk or cream, butter, flour, salt and pepper. Of course there are many variations and cooking techniques, and my version is one of them.

You will certainly find corn, onion, celery, milk, salt and pepper in my version. However, I like my soups to eat like a meal, so I added carrot, bell pepper and potatoes. I skipped the butter, and instead used rendered bacon fat for more flavor. (Yum!) I also decided to use the potato as a thickener instead of adding flour. So if you live a gluten-free life, my version should be much more in alignment with your diet.

Another thing I did was simmer the cobs (my secret ingredient!) for a deeper corn flavor. I saw this idea in other recipes and it made total sense. After all, when you are cooking seafood chowders and stews, cooking the bones, shells and heads provides more depth. Cooking corn cobs is really no different.

What I loved most about this Corn Chowder is that it was packed with rich corn flavor AND crunch thanks to the cobs and the use of farm fresh corn. The corn isn’t overcooked since it is added at the end. Plus, with lots of texture, it truly ate like a meal.

Corn Chowder

Recipe by Oven and Spice / Kacey BaxterCourse: SoupCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

5

minutes

Our fresh spin on this classic includes stewing corn cobs for a deeper flavor. The addition of bell pepper, carrots and potatoes turned the chowder into a heartier meal. Cooking the vegetables in bacon fat, also added complexity to the dish.

Ingredients

• 2 strips of bacon

• 3/4 cup onion, diced

• 1/2 cup carrot, diced

• 1/2 cup celery, diced

• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

• 4 corn cobs, corn removed

• 1 bay leaf

• 5 cups whole milk

• 3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ chunks

• 1/2 tsp dried French Thyme

• 3 cups fresh corn

Directions

• Place bacon into a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Heat on medium heat until the bacon renders its fat and crisps, about 5-7 minutes.
• Remove bacon from pan when crisp and set aside. Add onions, celery, carrot and bell pepper to pan and saute in bacon fat until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Crumble bacon and return it to the pot with vegetables. Break the corn cobs in half and add to the pot. Add the milk and the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent milk from scalding. Once milk comes to a gentle boil, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add potatoes, salt and thyme to the pot. Increase heat to medium until a gentle boil. Then return heat to low and simmer covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove cobs from pot. Take about 1-2 cups of the chowder (including some of the potatoes) and blend until smooth. Return to pan. Stir in corn. Increase heat to medium-low and cook for 5-7 more minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and corn is cooked. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.