One of my favorite side dishes in the summertime is homemade creamed corn, cut and scraped from giant ears fresh-picked straight from the field! But, what do you do in the winter when fresh corn isn’t available?

I must admit, after living in the midwest most of my life, I’m not very fond of canned corn, nor frozen for that matter. It’s always so mushy and over-processed. Completely ruined. But there is one type of canned that I find not only tolerable, but quite good actually!

“White shoepeg corn” is known for it’s sweetness and has small, narrow kernels that grow on the cob tightly packed in uneven rows. The name, “shoepeg”, refers to the wooden pegs that were used to attach the soles of shoes to the top. These corn kernels resemble the 19th century pegs used in shoemaking, hence their name.

The heirloom “shoepeg corn” is called “Country Gentleman”, and the seeds can still be purchased originating back in 1890! I’m going to try to grow some this coming summer! But for now, we have to settle for canned. I, know. Bummer!

I normally buy Green Giant, as the kernels are cut very close to the cob, and even though they’re canned, they still retain their “pop” nicely! The store was out this time, though, so I tried LeSueur brand. I wasn’t very happy with it, as it was like most canned corn….mushy. So stick with Green Giant if at all possible for best results!

This, of course, isn’t like “real” creamed corn. Because we don’t have the cobs to get the extra milk to start with. But it is a nice wintertime alternative! You just start by sautéing some onion in a little butter until sweet and tender, then cook your flour making a nice white sauce adding regular whole milk.

Season it lightly, adding a little sugar to taste. Then drain your corn, saving the juice, and just fold it in until heated through! It’s that simple and easy to throw together! Almost as quick as opening a can of creamed corn, only much, much better!!

Then, you can add as much of the reserved juice back into the sauce to thin to your own preference! Some like it pretty thick, you know who they are. The ones who can’t have one food tough another? And some actually prefer it fairly thin and like to mix it in with their mashed potatoes. 😉

So skip the runny, icky, canned creamed corn! And give this easy trick a try! It’s the next best thing to the real thing! 😉 And so comforting with just about any entree from fried or roast chicken, to pork chops and meatloaf, steaks, or even burgers!

Sweet, creamy, and delicious!
I hope you give this “Winter White Creamed Corn” a try soon!

Enjoy!! 🙂

Link to biscuits: “Mile-High No-Fail Sour Cream Biscuits”
Link to potatoes: “Best Creamy Homemade Mashed Potatoes”
Recipe and link to Country Fried Pork Chops ‘n Gravy coming soon!!

4 servings

Easy Winter White Creamed Corn

Ingredients

3 Tbl. butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped small (about a 1/2 cup or as desired)
1 tsp. sugar, more if you like it sweeter (taste first)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbl. flour
1 (11 oz.) can white shoepeg corn, drained (*Save juice / see Note below)
1 Tbl. reserved corn juice from can or as desired for consistency

Instructions

In a small frying pan (or medium, shallow sauté pan) over medium-low heat, melt butter and sauté onion until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Whisk together milk and flour, and stir into butter and onion mixture.

Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens. Cook and stir for 2 minutes longer.

Stir in drained corn and heat through over low heat.

Add 1 Tbl. of corn juice from can or as desired for thickness. (You will have a scant 1/4 cup juice to play with.)

Taste and adjust seasonings to preference.

Notes

I use Le Sueur brand or Green Giant per what the store has. (Green Giant is personally preferred). An 11 oz. can (LeSueur) yields approximately 1 1/2 cups corn (after draining juice). Juice yields about 1/4 cup.