Spare Spoons Kitchen
Southern Fried Corn
Not corn on the cob — Southern "fried corn," kernels and their milky scrapings cooked down low and slow in bacon grease until creamy. A late-summer skillet side that tastes like the South.
Ingredients
Easier, if you like
- Frozen corn (about 8 cups) skips shucking and scraping 12 ears — stir in a splash of cream to make up for the missing corn milk.
- Cook a few strips of bacon first for both the grease and a crispy crumble to stir in at the end.
Method
Cook's notes
Scrape the cobs. After cutting the kernels, run the back of the knife down each cob to release the milky starch — that "corn milk" is what makes fried corn creamy, no cream needed.
Fresh summer corn is the point; out of season, about 8 cups of frozen corn works — it gives less corn milk, so add a splash of cream or a spoon of flour-and-water to thicken.
Betty's ¾ cup bacon grease is generous — start with a few tablespoons; you can always add more. Bacon grease gives the classic smoky flavor.
It cooks down slowly for an hour, so stir often and add water as needed to keep it from sticking.
Make it vegetarian or vegan
Vegetarian / vegan: use oil (or butter, for vegetarian) instead of bacon grease — you lose the smoky depth, but it's still rich and sweet.
Gluten-free: it already is — just corn, fat, and seasoning.
See Betty’s original page
