CORN. It’s probably the most versatile vegetable you’ll find in your pantry or in the freezer. The uses are endless and there certainly isn’t a lack of scrumptious recipes to be found.
The thing about corn though is that it’s more often than not, the supporting role in a dish. But today we’re making it the star that will deserve a standing ovation!
As a kid growing up, any time momma pulled out the corn we knew what was coming! Not only was the soup going to be amazing, but we also got the treat of fried bread dough! Now I can’t exactly pinpoint when that tradition started, but honestly I’ve got other things to focus on … like making sure we had enough bread dough for the frying!!! We’ll get to that later.
While we don’t have an overabundance of cold snaps in the deep south, we do have a few each year. And as someone who loves to cook, we’re going to take advantage of those snaps! Bring on the soups, the gumbos, and don’t forget the chili’s!!!
Last week I cooked a huge vegetable beef soup, which was great! A good bit of leftovers went in the freezer for later down the road but I still had plenty of room on the shelf!
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure.
How about we get started on this soup to fill up the rest of that freezer, shall we??
Items Needed:
12 qt stockpot
Chef’s knife
Measuring Spoon Set
Cutting Board
Now odd’s are, if you’ve ever asked a Cajun how to cook something, you’ll hear: “First, you make a roux”! So …..
First, let’s make a roux!
And just like my other soups, we’ll need a big pot for this one!
Unlike a roux for stew or gravy, this one is more of a peanut butter color. Since it won’t be very dark, it should only take about 15 minutes. Once it’s dark enough for you, push the roux to the side of the pot so you can add the salt meat to brown.
Jump to Recipe
Ahhh ‘salt meat’. Having moved away from south Louisiana, I have come to realize this isn’t a staple in everyone’s grocery store. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a slab of salted pork meat in the meat section, just find some salted ham or even a cut up pork roast.
My only tip for using the pork roast would be to cut it up pretty small so it doesn’t take a lengthy cook time to get tender. Also, you’ll need to up the salt content when seasoning.
Alright, so now that your meat has browned you’ll want to add in the diced onions. Cook this for about 10 minutes stirring often.
I swear, there is nothing like the smell of a roux and onions cooking!!!
At this point you’ll add the tomatoes to your onions and roux mixture then continue to stir and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
While the onions and tomatoes cook, get the corn ready. If you use only canned corn, the soup will be good but you’ll be leaving flavor on the table by not using the cobs. For this recipe size I used 8 – frozen 1/2 cobs (4 whole cobs). Carefully remove the kernels and then using the back of the knife, scrape the cobs to get the ‘milk’.
Right about now, your house should have an aroma that has your mouth watering! But we aren’t done yet!
Now that the onions, roux, and tomatoes have cooked down it’s time to add the liquid. I use chicken broth because it adds a ton of flavor but you can’t add JUST stock/broth or you’ll blow the sodium out the roof. My rule of thumb is equal parts broth to water. Don’t forget to throw in the cobs that you cut the kernels off from! FLAVOR!!
Let this cook at a medium heat for about 30 minutes, adding water if needed.
Add the corn, cream corn, and a little bit of sugar. The sugar brings out the natural sweetness of corn. Keep in mind, if you’re watching your sugar, this can be left out.
If you find the soup needs more liquid, remember the equal parts rule. One cup of broth to one cup of water.
After adding the corn, cook on medium for another 30 minutes.
Now earlier I mentioned fried bread dough! I’m not sure if it’s popular any other place than south Louisiana but that’s okay!
It’s exactly what it sounds like though. Either find a bakery that makes their breads fresh daily who wouldn’t mind selling their raw dough or make your own. Break off some little balls, then stretch out the dough to the size of your hand.
My momma’s advice would be to make sure you have a few holes in the dough. That helps it from creating a bunch of bubbles that keep it from cooking and browning evenly. Just fry the dough in a little bit of oil until it’s golden brown and delicious!
As soon as it comes out the oil, sprinkle with salt and enjoy!!
Momma’s Corn Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 2-3 med onions, diced
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes in tomato sauce
- 48 oz chicken stock
- 6 cups water
- 14.5 oz whole kernel corn
- 14.5 oz cream style corn
- 6 frozen corn cobs, halved kernels removed
- 2 frozen corn cobs, halved cut into 3's
- 1 lb salt meat, cubed
- 1/2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt, more if desired
- 2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, over medium heat, combine oil and flour to make a roux. Stir constantly for 15 minutes until desired peanut butter color is achieved.
- Push roux to the side of the pot, add salt meat and brown for a few minutes.
- Add diced onion and continue to cook over medium until onions soften.
- Combine onions and roux with tomatoes and cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Carefully pour in all liquid and bring to a low boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.Add cobs that have had the kernels removed.
- Add all corn, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cover and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
- Yields 25-30 cups of soup.
