I know you are tired of thinking about what side dishes to prepare. Well, let me help you out with that!!
Now seriously, who doesn’t like corn? Don’t raise your hand because if you don’t, either your parents forced you to eat it and you had it sooo much, that you grew tired of it. Or maybe you had it too much in school and it wasn’t seasoned or prepared properly. Whatever the case, I’m asking, no, BEGGING you to give it another shot. You have to admit, it looks really good and tempting. Right? A new year is upon us and I’m sure like the millions of other Americans, you probably ate too many unhealthy things during the holiday season. I’ve had my share of carbs, sugar, and fat laden foods. My tummy needs a break from all of that.
Preparing foods sous vide has been a life/culinary changing experience for me. It gives me the flexibility I need in my busy schedule to package foods ahead of time, freeze them or not, and place them in a water bath. You no longer have to worry about undercooking or overcooking food. It eliminates guessing and the occasional use of a thermometer. What makes this such a precise cooking method, is an immersion circulator, a device that both heats and then holds the water at an exact temperature and continuously circulates it. The functionality is even easier. Put the immersion circulator in a water bath, attach the device to the side of the container, set the temperature, wait until the water reaches the proper temperature, drop the vacuumed-sealed food in the water and relax.
Back to the corn. Preparing any vegetables sous-vide, is a win. You get the perfect amount of crispness, and it is simple. Corn is perfect as an addition to salsas, stir-fry, and it pairs well with chicken or pork. I added a little butter, roasted garlic cloves, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. You can add any aromatics or other flavored fats to your corn. I placed the ingredients in a vacuumed-sealed bag, waited for my water to reach 194º, and placed my bag of goodies in the pot, and I started on another component of my meal. After 20 minutes, I had perfectly cooked corn!
If you don’t own an immersion circulator yet, no worries. You can always add a little olive oil and unsalted butter to your already heated sauté pan, add your corn, season with salt and black or white pepper. Cook for about 5-8 minutes and add fresh herbs like thyme, basil or parsley at the end. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some red pepper flakes for heat or a little smoked paprika. The variations are endless, so don’t be afraid to make this dish your own.
This recipe was adapted from my peeps at ChefSteps! I am not being paid to say this, but I believe in their product and use it weekly to produce recipes and dinner for my family. If you are looking for an awesome, affordable immersion circulator, order a Joule. Visit them at chefsteps.com
Crisp Corn with Roasted Garlic and Thyme
Ingredients
- 2 heads Garlic roasted, optional
- 4 ears Corn husk and silk removed
- 2 ounces Unsalted butter
- 4 sprigs Thyme
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- Fresh herbs to garnish optional
Instructions
Roasted Garlic
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Roasted garlic: To roast garlic, preheat the oven to 300º. Place peeled garlic cloves (around 20 or 2 garlic heads) in aluminum foil, pour olive oil over them, and season with kosher salt. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the garlic is soft.
Remove garlic from the oil and set aside 3 cloves for the recipe. Roasted garlic should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Sous Vide Corn
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Stand cob over a bowl, then remove the kernels by slicing downward. Transfer the corn to a vacuumed-sealed bag. Add the roasted garlic, butter, thyme sprigs, kosher salt and pepper.
Seal your bag according to the manufacturers directions. Heat water with immersion circulator to 194º and lower corn in the water for about 20 minutes.
Transfer corn to serving dish and garnish with fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika or any other seasonings you wish.
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