Cooking Lesson #104 Hot Honey Butter Corn

Hot Honey Butter Corn

How you doin’? While it seems everything has fallen to hell-in-a-handbasket during the pandemic, two excellent, locally-grown produce crops seem to be better than ever. Local strawberries have been plump and sweet right out of the fields in Oxnard California. Likewise, the white locally grown corn is fantastic.
 
I shared a recipe with you a couple of weeks ago for a Fresh Corn Carbonara Pasta.  But corn doesn’t have to be a side dish to a steak or a mix-in to a pasta dish… corn can be stand alone. Actually, last night my dinner consisted of just two ears of corn (and a couple of pieces of homemade peanut brittle—had to make sure I kept my calories up).
 
I think there are hundreds of ways to cook corn and why not—corn was first domesticated by native peoples in Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Native Americans taught European colonists how to grow the indigenous grains, and, since its introduction into Europe by Christopher Columbus and other explorers, corn has spread to all areas of the world suitable to its cultivation. It is gown on every continent except Antarctica. Did you know that corn is the most widely distributed of the world’s food crops—used for used as livestock feed, as human food, as bio-fuel, and as raw material in industry? Wow! Did you know corn was so versatile?
 
Corn is essential for masa used to make tortillas and tamales; corn meal for corn rye and the bottoms of pizza; grits and corn bread—two original southern favorites. Plus, dozens of other applications.
 
I can easily boil my corn in salted water, grill it on the barbecue, make in my Instant Pot or even zap it in the microwave and all these methods work. So, I was tooling around the other day trying to figure new ways to cook and enjoy fresh, sweet corn on the cob and I came up with this new method. Rather than just boil the corn in water (which does nothing to enrich it), I boiled it in butter and milk. It is a spectacular way to make sweet buttery corn. 
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  8 to 10 minutes
Yield:  6 servings
 
Ingredients
4 to 6 cups water
1 cup milk
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 to 6 ears corn, shucked and halved
 
Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add milk, butter, honey, red pepper flakes and salt.
2. Carefully add corn and reduce the heat to simmer.
3. Boil the corn for 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Use tongs to remove the corn from the butter bath and serve immediately.

ChefSecret:  I also like to strip the husks off the corn, slather it with mayonnaise, sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. You can do this ahead of time. Toss the “iron-clad” corn on the Barbie the same time you put your steaks up they will be ready when the meat is medium-rare.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “This darn pandemic! I went grocery shopping with a mask last night, got home and discovered I brought home the wrong wife. Everyone looks alike. Stay alert people!”
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