There's no butter or cheese in this creamy corn grits recipe--but you wouldn't guess it! It's creamy and sweet but not super rich: all of the flavor comes from using every bit of the corn cob and not a lot of fat. It's a perfect corn side that celebrates the summer corn harvest.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Bacon, Comfort Food, Corn, Feeds a Crowd, Grits, Scallions
Prep Time 40 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour20 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
4earscornfresh corn is required here!
2slicesbaconcut into small pieces; ~ΒΌ-inch dice
2large scallionsor 4 small scallions; whites and greens sliced thinly and divided.
1cupcoarse ground cornmeal, grits, or polentado not use instant grits
1tbspkosher salt
Instructions
To prepare the corn, remove husks and silk. Cut the corn kernels off of each cob and set aside in a bowl. Then run your knife across the cut cobs with slight pressure. This will scrape out any leftover corn solids and milky juice. Scoop this into a small bowl using the back of the knife to help you gather all of the liquid. Finally, place the corn cobs in a large pot. Add enough water to the pot to just cover the cobs and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a heavy simmer, cover, and let the corn stock simmer for about half an hour.
Place the bacon in a medium pot or Dutch oven. Place the pot on a burner over medium heat and cook the bacon until it's browned. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking.Once the bacon is brown and it's fat is rendered, add the white part of the scallions and cook for 2-3 minutes until the scallions start to soften.
Add the grits and salt to the pot and stir to coat in the bacon fat. Then pour in 4 cups of the corn stock you made. If you are a little short of the 4 cups, just add a bit of water until you have 4 cups of liquid total. Whisk the grits and liquid well. Stir in the juice and solids from scraping the corn, but not the cut kernels. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a very low simmer. Cover while simmering, but you will need to stir about every 5-7 minutes to prevent the bottom from sticking/burning. Simmer for 35-45 minutes until the grits are softened. Once the grits are cooked through, stir in the corn kernels and scallion greens.Serve.