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Corn Fritters

Source of Recipe

From "Cook With Me" by Alex Guarnaschelli


Recipe Introduction

"I love biting into a fresh ear of corn slathered in butter, salt, and sugar—those first few bites are so luscious and sweet. I make these fritters to taste like individual bites of corn right off the cob. The secret to a tasty fritter is seasoning the corn before it's battered and fried. I use fresh corn when I can find it. I also use frozen by simply defrosting the corn and draining the water from it before cooking. The two spark plugs in this recipe? The brown sugar, which gives the corn a caramel-y flavor, and the cayenne pepper in the batter, which lends a burst of heat."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
â—¦ 4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed if frozen
â—¦ 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
â—¦ Kosher salt
â—¦ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
â—¦ 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
â—¦ ½ cup whole milk
â—¦ ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ ¾ cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 quart (4 cups) canola oil
â—¦ 1 large lime, cut into 8 wedges


Recipe

If you are using fresh corn, melt the butter in a medium sauté pan set over medium heat, add the corn, and season it with 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar and about 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld together and the corn gives off steam and shrinks slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the corn in a colander or sieve and set it aside to cool.

If you are using frozen corn, toss it with the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt and skip to the next step.

In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, baking powder, eggs, milk, 2 teaspoons salt, and the cayenne. Gently stir in the flour and then add the seasoned corn. Set the batter aside to rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before frying.

Pour the oil into a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pot and heat it over medium heat until the oil reaches 360° F on an instant-read thermometer. (Or test the oil by dropping in a dollop of batter. Once the batter hits the oil, it should rise to the surface fairly quickly, and begin to bubble and fry. If it doesn't, wait for the oil to heat more before frying.) Line a sheet pan with a paper towel. Use a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop to drop the batter, one scoop at a time, into the hot oil. Don't crowd the pot—for most pots, frying about 6 scoops at a time is enough. Use a slotted spoon to gently swirl the oil as the fritters fry. (Swirling allows the fritters to move around a lot, ensuring that they fry more evenly on all sides.)

Once the fritters are light to medium brown, after 3 to 5 minutes, use the slotted spoon to transfer them to the paper towel to drain. Sprinkle the fritters immediately with salt and more brown sugar, and serve them with the lime wedges while they are still warm. Bring the oil back up to temperature before frying more fritters.

Makes 15 to 20 fritters