Creamy Corn Chowder

I understand that the food-related zeitgeist these days can be boiled down to “bacon makes everything better.” Now, I’m pretty sure there’s a line, and I’m even more sure that said line is definitely on the near side of bacon vodka (sorry, Jacob), but there is one thing that bacon consistently improves: chowder.

Much as with cheese, I grew up in a bacon-free household. Oh sure, we had turkey bacon, but unless I was at my grandparents’ house inhaling 2-4 ethereal BLTs at a time, I never had the real thing. I had the lowest cholesterol on earth… or at least I would have if I didn’t drink milk by the gallon… but I never learned how to properly cook using bacon. This all changed when I started taking cooking classes: bacon happens.

One of the classes focused on stocks/soups/stews/pretty much anything that is primarily composed of broth. Before this class, I thought that putting bacon in chowders was a uniquely southern habit, and maybe it is, but the class was in Boston and they still did it, so I ‘m going to assume that it’s fairly widely accepted these days. That day, we made a fennel corn chowder that, if I loved fennel, would have been perfect. As I do not really favor licorice-y flavors, however, I then went home and messed around with the recipe to correct the potato-corn balance (there was way too much potato) and substitute a big pile of sweet onion for the fennel. Delicious!

I’ve made it for a bunch of people and it rarely has leftovers. In fact, it may be my most commonly requested recipe. I’m going to be nice, even, and give you both the “good” way and the shortcuts. So, here it is and, in case I have somehow been unclear, do not omit the bacon!



Corn Chowder

5 ears worth of corn kernels (or a bag of frozen corn, but the fresh stuff is really good)
1 large potato, peeled and cubed into bite-size pieces
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4ish cups of broth (but pour it in slowly, stopping when you think it’s liquid enough, if it needs to be thinned out later, you can always add more)
¼ cup flour
4 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
Cayenne pepper, to taste (always start small on this one, just a few pinches, taste it as you go, though I use a ton of it because I like a nice kick)
1 cup cream (you can use ½ and ½ if you feel the need to cut calories, but it won’t be quite as thick)

1. Heat the oven to 350, toss the corn kernels in there and roast for 10-15 min, or until they look slightly more golden than they started. You can also toss them in a sauté pan, but roasting gives you a really rich flavor.

2. In a large pot, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon starts to look crispy, then add the onions and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes(it cooks off the flour flavor), but don’t let it burn. Add broth and potatoes and simmer until potatoes are cooked.

3. Add in cream, corn, and cayenne pepper and simmer for 3-5 minutes to evenly distribute the flavor, serve.