RECIPE: Make Wood’s Chapel BBQ’s Creamed Corn
I don’t know the secret, but the creamed corn at Wood’s Chapel BBQ in Summerhill is unlike any other. We’d love to know how they make it. — Angelica Turner, Atlanta
Wood’s Chapel BBQ chef-partner Todd Ginsberg created this take on esquites, the off-the-cob version of Mexican street corn. “Hominy adds a nice earthiness while still bolstering the corn flavor. It doesn’t have the same sweetness as straight-up corn, so you get a nuanced corn flavor, like the flavor of a fresh corn tortilla,” Ginsberg said.
In the summer, the restaurant makes this dish with corn cut fresh off the cob, but this version, using frozen corn, works when out-of-season corn is not as sweet as you would like. Don’t be tempted to skip the Morita Mayo. It’s the perfect tart and tangy complement to the richness of the creamed corn.
The recipe makes 12 cups, the equivalent of about 16 servings at the restaurant. It’s ideal when you’re hosting a crowd. However, the recipe would be easy to cut in half when you don’t need quite so much.
Wood’s Chapel BBQ’s Creamed Corn
- 1 stick (1/4 pound) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2 (15.5-ounce) cans hominy, rinsed and drained
- 3 pounds frozen corn, thawed, divided
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more if needed
- Cojita, sliced green onions and Morita Mayo (see recipe), to garnish
- In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat and add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and water. Add hominy and 1 pound corn. Reduce heat so mixture is just simmering. Simmer 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree mixture in the Dutch oven. The mixture does not need to be completely smooth. Decrease heat to low and add sugar, salt and remaining 2 pounds corn. Cook until mixture is heated through, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently so mixture does not burn. Serve immediately or keep warm until needed. Top each serving with cojita, sliced green onions and Morita Mayo.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per 3/4 cup serving (without garnishes): 241 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 4 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 14 grams total fat (8 grams saturated), 36 milligrams cholesterol, 598 milligrams sodium.Morita Mayo
Morita peppers are a type of dried chipotle pepper made from smoked, red-ripe jalapeno peppers. Moritas are smoked for less time than chipotles. You can find moritas in shops that specialize in Mexican or international groceries, or substitute dried chipotles.
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup morita chiles
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt, to taste
- In a small bowl, combine water and morita chiles. Let soak for 20 minutes. Remove chiles from water and remove stems and seeds. Reserve soaking water.
- In the jar of a blender, combine seeded chiles with 1/3 cup soaking water. Blend to a paste. Add mayonnaise, lime juice and vinegar. Blend again, then remove from blender and taste for seasoning, adding salt if needed.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per tablespoon: 91 calories (percent of calories from fat, 98), trace protein, trace carbohydrates, 0 grams total sugars, trace fiber, 10 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 95 milligrams sodium.From the menu of ... Wood’s Chapel BBQ, 85 Georgia Ave. SE, Atlanta; 404-522-3000, woodschapelbbq.com.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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