Nothing says summer more than fresh sweet corn piled high in the Farmer’s Market. Peel back the husks and relish the sweet earthy smell of freshly picked ears. What better way to savor its amazing taste than with Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters topped with Honey Chipotle Sauce. The corn fritters are a snap to make. While they are best served when made, the leftover corn fritters can be refrigerated and reheated at a later date. This amazing recipe is adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe.
Ingredients for Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters with Honey Chipotle Sauce:
For the corn fritters, I used the following ingredients: Fresh corn on the cob, vegetable oil, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, green onion tops, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and an egg. I used mayonnaise, honey, Dijon mustard, and Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce for the sauce.
Making the Honey Chipotle Sauce:
The Honey Chipotle Sauce just took several minutes to put together. I combined the honey, mustard, and chopped peppers in Adobo Sauce with the mayonnaise. That’s it! Once everything was combined, I covered the sauce and refrigerated it until we were ready to eat.
Making the Batter for the Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters:
I started by shucking the corn, and cutting the kernels off the cobs. I’ve found that the easiest way to cut off the kernels is to set the cob vertically on a small bowl placed inside of a larger bowl. That way, the knife can go all the way to the bottom of the cob, and the kernels (mostly) end up in the larger bowl!
Once the corn was ready, I heated a small amount of vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Then, I added half of the corn and a little bit of salt. I cooked the corn, stirring frequently for 3 to 4 minutes until it started to lightly brown.
While the corn was cooking, I puréed the other half of the corn in my food processor fitted with the steel blade for about 15 seconds.
Once the corn kernels were done, I transferred them to a medium bowl. I added the purée to the same skillet set over medium-high heat. Then, I cooked the purée for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. After 5 minutes, the corn purée had thickened to concentrate the flavors.
I added the purée to the bowl with the corn kernels, and stirred to combine everything. Before adding the other ingredients, I let the corn mixture cool for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, I added the flour, cornstarch, chopped green onion tops, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Then, I stirred everything together. Finally, I added a beaten egg to the mixture, and stirred the mixture until everything was well incorporated. At this point, I covered the bowl with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator because I wasn’t yet ready to cook the corn fritters.
Finishing the Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters:
I heated some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then, using a 2-tablespoon (#30) ice cream or cookie scoop, I added mounds of the fritter batter to the hot oil.
Next, I flattened the mounds to a thickness of about ½-inch with the back of a spoon. I cooked the corn fritters for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they were golden brown. When they were done, I transferred them to a paper towel lined plate to drain, and proceeded to cook the rest of the fritters.
I ended up with 12 incredible Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters that I served with the Honey Chipotle Sauce on the side. Since it’s just the two of us, I refrigerated the leftovers. I heated the leftovers at 350° F for about 15 minutes. The leftovers were close to being just as good as the freshly made fritters. Yum!
Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters with Honey Chipotle Sauce (Adapted from Cooks Illustrated Recipe)
Ingredients
Honey Chipotle Sauce
- ½ cup (4 ounces) mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon (0.75 ounces) honey
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters
- 4 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from cob (about 3 cups), divided (See Notes 1 and 2)
- 1 teaspoon plus ½ cup vegetable oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- ¼ cup (1.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup finely chopped green onion tops (See Note 3)
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon chopped chives for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Honey Chipotle Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Yield: About ¾ cups.
Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters
- Purée half of the corn (about 1 ½ cups) in food processor fitted with steel blade for 15 to 20 seconds, scraping down the sides half way through. Set aside.
- Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add remaining 1 ½ cups of the corn and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring frequently for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer to a medium bowl.
- Add puréed corn to same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Transfer to bowl with cooked corn kernels. Stir to combine. Allow mixture to cool for 15 minutes.
- Add flour, cornstarch, chopped green onion tops, Parmesan cheese, remaining salt, and pepper to corn mixture. Stir to combine.
- Beat egg until well combined. Add to corn mixture. Stir until all ingredients are well incorporated. May be covered and refrigerated at this point.
- Heat ½ cup vegetable oil in large skillet over medium heat until. Drop 2-tablespoon portions for corn mixture into pan. Gently flatten to about ½-inch with the back of a spoon. Cook until golden brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Transfer to paper towel lined plate. Cook remaining fritter batter.
- Garnish with chopped chives and serve with Honey Chipotle Sauce on the side. (See Note 4)
- Yield: 12 Fresh Sweet Corn Fritters. (See Note 5)
Chula's Expert Tips
- May use frozen corn in place of fresh corn.
- The easiest way to cut off the kernels is to set the cob vertically on a small bowl placed inside of a larger bowl. That way, the knife can go all the way to the bottom of the cob, and the kernels (mostly) end up in the larger bowl!
- May use chives in place of the green onion tops.
- May use a garlic aioli made by combining ½ cup of mayonnaise with 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice in place of the Honey Chipotle Sauce.
- Leftover Corn Fritters can be refrigerated, and reheated at 350° F for 15 minutes.
We used left over corn from last weekends BBQ and it worked out great! The char added a nice flavor. Also used real maple syrup in the sauce as my husband has an aversion to honey. It is delicious, not a single fritter left on the plate!
What a great idea of using leftover grilled corn and maple syrup!