Fresh Fried Corn (Shucking, Silking, Cooking, and Freezing)
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An easy but nonetheless scrumptious Southern side dish, learn how to make buttery fresh fried corn from start to finish.
Lay out a table with every dish imaginable, absolutely everything under the sun, and if there is fresh fried corn on that table, you’ll know where to find me.
There is nothing in this world like the flavor of fresh corn, shucked and cut off the cob and cooked up in a skillet. No matter how hard companies may try (and I do appreciate their efforts), no frozen corn kernels or canned corn can even come close. The taste is night and day, as if it were two different vegetables entirely.
When we were little, shucking corn was a family affair. Mama would put a few buckets on the front porch and we’d each get our own brush and then everyone would set to work. We’d shuck a few bushels (at least) and she’d set to cutting it off the cob and cooking it up for everyone. I remember being able to have all the corn we wanted at dinner but it seems now that I’m grown and have my own family, I can never have such bounty. No matter how much I make, we always want more.
Today I’m going to talk you through how I make my fresh fried corn recipe from start to finish. We’re going to shuck them together and cook them together. It’s a Southern Plate family affair! My Southern fried corn is so simple but so good. All you need is margarine, salt and pepper, and a skillet. I’ve included some serving suggestions below because this side dish goes perfectly with so many Southern dishes.
Alright, grab your corn on a cob and let’s go!
Recipe Ingredients
- Fresh corn
- A stiff brush (a dish brush works fine)
- Margarine or unsalted butter
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Bacon grease
- Water
How to Make Fresh Fried Corn
Shucking the corn
First, peel back the husks on your ear of corn.
Like so.
Remove what silks you can with your hand.
Then take hold of all of the husks at the base and…
Break it off.
If kids are watching, you should make a big GRRR sound when you do this and act like you are straining really hard. It will impress them, honest.
Here is our almost ready ear of corn. There are a few silks left on it that we need to get at though.
Silking the corn
If you take your stiff brush and just brush against the directions of the silks, that should do the trick. You may have to grab a few and pull them off.
If a few end up in your corn, the world won’t end. In fact, you won’t really notice because once you taste this, I doubt you’ll find time to draw breath again until you are done devouring as much as you can possibly fit onto your plate. But maybe that’s just me. 🙂
Here is our corn. It wants to be cooked. It wants us to eat it. And it wants to make us happy.
Good corn.
I am using eight ears and it was enough for four of us to have generous helpings. However, I could have used 16 ears and we would have eaten all of that, too. I know I keep going on and on about that but I’m stressing a point here.
Did I mention how much I love fresh fried corn?
Cut away the corn
Take each ear and stand it up like so. Run your knife blade down the side to cut the kernels off.
HOWEVER, you don’t want to cut them off right at the ear, you want to leave a bit of the kernel bottom on the ear for the scrapings. The scrapings are what is going to give our fried corn its body. So basically, try to cut about 3/4 of the kernel off but leave the rest.
Mama likes to place her ear of corn in the center of an angel food cake pan and then cut the kernels off and scrape it. The center of the pan helps hold the ear and the kernels and scrapings fall right into the pan below. I would do this if I ever actually used an angel food cake pan enough that I didn’t have to go hunt it down when I wanted to shuck corn. Angel food pan = tube pan.
Kernels cut off, ready to scrape!
See how all of the little holes in the cob are filled? In the next picture, you’ll know what I’m talking about better.
Take the blade of your knife and scrape down the corn cob. See how the holes are empty now?
We’ve gotten all of that good pulp out of there.
If you have stuff all over your hands as I do, you’ve done well!
Here is our corn all ready to go!
I know this smells good but you don’t want to eat it now. This is due to reasons that I do not feel the need to document on a food blog. Trust me on this.
Cook
Corn
First.
Cooking the fresh fried corn
Now, in a large skillet, put about two tablespoons of butter or margarine and a tablespoon or so of bacon drippings.
Add your corn and about a 1/2 cup of water.
How much water you end up needing is really dependent on your corn. Some corn will be starchier and need more, some corn will be thin and actually need thickening. For my corn here, I actually ended up needing a cup of water. If your corn ends up looking a little thin, you can stir in a tablespoon of corn starch or flour in with two or three tablespoons of water (mix it up pretty well) and then add that to your corn.
Salt and pepper to taste.
This is always a very personal thing. I am using about 1/2 tsp of pepper but if you prefer more peppery corn, by all means, add more!
I added about 1/2 tsp of salt too. These are good starting points but most people add more.
In general, if you are preparing a meal for guests you should always under-season and then allow them to season their food to their personal taste.
Bring that to a bit of a boil and then lower the temperature of the stove eye to allow it to just simmer.
Stir it often and cook for about 30 minutes.
Yum, YUM, YUM!!
I could just dive into a vat of this, I swear.
Storage
- Store the cooked corn leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Quickly reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- If you want to freeze for later, just cook about halfway through and then cool and place in freezer bags or containers and label. Thaw when ready to use and cook for half an hour just as described above. It will last up to 8 months in the freezer.
Recipe Notes
- Here are some variations on this fresh fried corn recipe:
- Add 1/2 a yellow onion (finely chopped) and 1/2 a bell pepper (finely chopped) to the skillet 2 minutes before you add the corn.
- For heat, add a finely chopped jalapeno or chipotle pepper. Another option is to sprinkle the dish with a dash of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
- For added flavor, sprinkle your corn with some Cajun or Creole seasoning (I love Tony Chachere’s).
- Before serving, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley, basil, green onion, or chives.
- For extra sweetness, add a spoonful of granulated sugar (adjust according to taste).
- Enhance the bacon flavor and add cooked and crumbled bacon bits to your skillet fried corn.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with fresh fried corn?
This is a versatile Southern side dish, so you can serve it with so many main meals:
- Burgers (check out my meatloaf burgers).
- Pulled pork
- Pork chops with velvet cream sauce
- Southern fried chicken
- Grilled chicken tenders
- Crockpot beef ribs
- Southern fried catfish
Can you use frozen corn or canned corn instead?
While this recipe definitely tastes best with fresh corn, you can use frozen corn or canned corn if you’re in a pinch. Just make sure it’s thawed, well-drained, and patted dry before adding it to the skillet. You may also need to adjust seasonings according to taste.
You may also want to check out these corn recipes:
Superfast Corn Succotash Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 fresh ears of corn
- margarine or unsalted butter
- salt and pepper
- water
- bacon grease
Instructions
- Shuck and remove silks from the corn. Cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife, leaving about 1/4 of the kernel. Scrape cobs clean with the blade of the knife.8 fresh ears of corn
- Place about 3 tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon or so of bacon grease in a skillet. Add corn and corn pulp. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup of water (more if needed).margarine or unsalted butter, salt and pepper, water, bacon grease
- Bring to a slight boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer and continue cooking and stirring for about 30 minutes.
- If you are wanting to freeze for later, just cook about halfway through and then cool and place in freezer bags or containers and label. Thaw when ready to use and cook for half an hour just as described above.
Nutrition
Always called the “eye” for me too….I love corn from my Daddy’s garden. He is 90 years old and still has qutie a large garden. His corn is like eating candy to me. I cut off some corn last week. My step-daughter and her family were coming and I left them just a taste and froze the rest because I was selfish that way….
It has always been “eye”. “put in on the eye”. Now have a glass top but it is still the “eye”. No need to change now.
Christy,, my daddy always made fried corn he would sit out under the pecan tree and shuck and cut the corn off the cob , He always used white corn and lots of pepper . he would start out by frying up some streak O lean and used the drippings from the meat . he would get the grease real hot and then pour that corn over it in a cast iron pan and we were always there to hear the sound of it going in the hot grease then he added milk and water and mixture of both also butter , he would cook it on low adding liquid as he needed all day . i would go in the fridge after dinner and eat it cold out of the bowl . He could make the best . he was a Pullman conductor for Southern railway but actually worked for the Pullman comp when I was young . he got all kinds of ideas from other co workers on recipes and such and as he and mother were young they owned a restaurant in downtown Macon Ga on Cherry street . he was the best cook you should have ate his breakfast . it was delish and full of calories . lol
This is the best – my grandmama said you need to go around the cob three times – first time you are just taking the tops off the kernels then you get the rest of the kernel as you go the 2nd round — then you milk the cob by scraping it. I have 6 children that are all out of the house but one and I still have to make a large batch every time I make it b/c the others hear that I made fried corn they want some. My girls epically make a point to come by or want me to meet them or bring some to church for them. It takes a good 10 ears to fill my skillet so I generally do both of my skillets at a time! LOL
Hi Christy,
Do you add salt and the margarine/bacon grease when you are freezing? I always thought you froze it with no added ingredients and added after thawing/cooking. Would the added ingredients lessen the freezer life of the corn?
Thank you,
Deborah
I grew up with stove “eyes”! And I have a angel food pan but can’t imagine how to do the corn with that. I wish you had posted pics of your Mom cutting off her corn in it! I will certainly try this the next time I need to cut off corn which will be very soon! Thanks so much for your recipes and great thoughts! Love, love, love your website!
I make fresh fried corn every summer all summer long. My mama was from Georgia where fried corn was(and probably still is) a staple. She made it every summer and would freeze corn kernels and pulp to make in the winter. As a kid, I absolutely hated the stuff. Now as an adult, I love it but since mama is gone now I had to learn to make it myself. If the corn isn’t sweet enough, I add a little sugar. I always use bacon grease and sometimes chopped cooked bacon as well. Put in on a plate with some fried chicken and squash casserole and that’s a Sunday meal in my family. 🙂
You would not believe how many people in Michigan have never heard of or tasted fried corn. I grew up on it and coook it my self, what a yummy taste treat. Wish it was corn season right now!!!!!