Summer's Candy! Making Pan Fried Sweet Corn!

Here in the great state of Michigan, we gobble up sweet corn by the bushel every summer. It’s a treat that we look forward to, and if we are lucky it starts coming in by the end of July and we enjoy it through the middle of September. There are a number of farmers in the Thumb that specialize in growing this delicious corn, and I try to make weekly stops.  One of the farms is the O’Hair Farms. They grow a number of crops including sweet corn. Driving by their farm one will find a large wooden cart with the day’s harvest – it doesn’t get any fresher than this!

Getting our sweet corn fix at the O'Hair Farms

Normally, we just steam the corn, maybe add some butter and salt, and enjoy. But if you find you have a surplus of sweet corn or are just looking for ways to change up how you prepare it, here is a recipe that you can take in a number of directions. We added some cherry peppers that we found at the farm stand – these little beauties pack a lot of heat, so we just used a couple small ones that were finely diced up. If you didn’t want the heat, you could use a sweet red or green pepper, or a shallot or onion. Or you could just make it all corn!  

 

Pan Fried Corn

8 ears fresh sweet corn

3 TBSP vegetable oil

1 TBSP flour

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 TBSP hot cherry pepper, finely diced

¾ cup water

2 TBSP butter

¼ cup chopped scallions 

Shuck the corn removing all the husk and silks. With a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cob. I use a Bundt pan for this job, which allows me to hold the cob up on end in the center hole of the pan, and then as I cut down the kernels fall into the pan (see video). You tube pan or Angel Food Cake pan would work just as well. After the kernels are removed, scrape cobs with a regular table knife to extract any additional “corn milk” from the cobs. 

Heat oil in a large skillet (I use my big cast iron skillet for this job) over medium heat.  Add corn and any corn milk you have collected. Saute until corn begins to slightly darken in color, about four or five minutes. Add flour, sugar, salt, pepper, cherry peppers (if using – or substitute with a sweet pepper) and cook until peppers begin to soften. Add water and stir until it is absorbed. You will notice something that looks like a light “glaze” on the corn. Add butter and stir until butter has completely melted. Garnish top of corn with chopped scallions. Enjoy!