Sweet corn, I noticed one thing in stores, sweet corn is never sold by a great name. It’s simply called sweet corn and if you drive the country roads of Illinois, farmers refer to corn by the seed number. The number seems to be of more importance than a great name. You hardly see a tempting name that speaks to the quality and flavor of corn like Mr. Mini Mirai corn which offers truly exceptional sweetness, deep kernels, and petite ears that fit on a dinner plate. We sampled this gourmet-quality corn with local chefs, and they raved about its outstanding flavor, tenderness, and classy appearance.
Corn season is here and for me, it’s one of my favorite times of the year. Serve me fresh sweet corn, crisp bacon, a soft boiled egg, toast along with a great hot sauce and I’m in heaven!
Sweet corn is all about natural sugars
Sweet corn has a very high sugar content when harvested at the right time. Illinois corn is usually planted at the beginning of April and harvested in the middle of July. This year the planting in some areas was delayed because of heavy rains, the ground was way too wet to plant corn. The fact is that with only adding a pinch of salt and pepper and one tablespoon of butter you create a dish that has an awesome complex sweetness and plenty of nutritional benefits.
Hunting season and corn
This past weekend I drove to the Blackford farm near Armstrong, Illinois to get things set for the fall deer hunt. Approximately a 2 hour trip from Chicago, Armstrong is a rural village of about 400 located in Vermilion County, where the land is flat and the corn grows tall. Getting things set for the deer hunt usually entails scouting, cleaning overgrown trails, and checking the stands and the cameras. I love the farm, the cows are big and the grass is green. I have to admit, sometimes when I cross the pasture, that big bull makes me really nervous. Fields of clover and wildflowers, plenty of fresh air with that added hint of cow manure, in other words, the real thing.
Check for sweetness
Getting ready for deer hunting season and getting fresh corn from the farm is the perfect weekend combination of things to do. I brought home 2 dozen ears of sweet corn. The farmers I know recommend eating corn the day it is picked. As a matter of fact, it’s better to eat it within hours of being picked. The longer the corn is off the stalk and the longer it sits around the more starch it will develop.
Corn is harvested at the milk stage when the kernels are full of a milky-looking juice and are ready to be picked. To test, pierce the soft kernels with your thumbnail to look for the sweet milk, or as I do it bite into a raw ear and taste for sweetness.
For some families, it is an annual tradition to get together to shuck, clean, and freeze sweet corn to enjoy for the rest of the year. Sweet corn freezes well. To cook the corn is very simple, and like most of my recipes, it does not take a lot of cooking knowledge to whip up this awesome breakfast. The perfect cooked egg has a firm egg white and soft egg yolk and is a winner. Every time I use the American test kitchen cooking method, my soft-boiled eggs are a home run cooked to perfection. Now combine the sweetness of sweet corn, crisp bacon, and a perfectly soft-boiled egg and you have a nutrient-rich and great-tasting, extremely easy to execute the meal.
Fresh Sweet Corn, Bacon, and Soft Boiled Egg
The Taste
Sweet and creamy, the little saltiness of the bacon and a soft-boiled egg is a great combination. I like to add hot sauce, it kicks it up a notch. It’s totally amazing to me how sweet corn picked at the right time, has that amazing incredible natural sweetness and wonderful flavor.
The Process
Almost all the recipes I post on my blog are categorized as easy to cook and this one is no exception. Make sure when you cut the corn off the cob, collect all the juices, and use them with the cooking of the corn. The perfect cooked soft-boiled egg is simple, perfect, and easy to cook.
The Verdict
Fresh sweet corn can be a healthy part of a meal as long as it is not slathered in butter and salt. While nearly all field corn grown in the U.S. is GMO, most sweet corn is not. Reports show that only 3 percent to 4 percent of the sweet corn grown in the U.S. each year is GMO. Purchase organic sweet corn, organic foods by law cannot contain more than 5 percent GMO-derived ingredients.
Sweet Corn Polenta, Bacon, Hot Sauce & Soft Boiled Egg
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Shuck the corn and remove the silk
- Cut ears in half and with a box grater, grate the corn. Make sure to collect all the corn juices.6 each sweet corn
Cook the sweet corn
- In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the corn kernels and all the juices. Stir often and cook for about 5 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.1 tbsp butter, salted, 1 pinch sea salt, fine ground, 1 pinch black pepper, ground
Cook the bacon
- Bacon should be started in a cold pan, so before you turn on the heat, layout your strips on the pan. Cook bacon low and slow over medium heat until the bacon is crisp. Place cooked bacon on a paper towel and let the bacon drain. ... Set aside4 slices bacon
Cook the eggs
- Add 1/2 " water to a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Using tongs, gently place eggs in boiling water (eggs will not be submerged). Cover saucepan and cook eggs for exactly 6 1/2 minutes. Remove eggs from the pan, run under cold water for about 20 seconds, and peel4 each eggs
Serve
- Divide the corn among four plates, finish with soft boiled eggs, crisp bacon, toast and top with hot sauce for an added kick.4 tbsp hot sauce
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate