[CH] Corn n Poblano Fritters

Helen Gillis (helengillis@earthlink.net)
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:41:48 -0400 

Made a variation on Jasper White's Sweet Corn Fritters (From "Lobster at 
  Home")

2 large or 3 small ears fresh sweet corn, husked
1 poblano finely diced (original recipe calls for red bell pepper)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow corn meal (sub jonnycake meal)
1 tbls baking powder
1 tea kosher or sea salt
1 1/2 tea freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tea cayenne pepper
5 scallions (green & white parts), thinly sliced
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
corn oil for frying

1.  Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Wipe away any corn 
silk sticking to the ears of corn.  Drop the ears into the water & cook 
until the corn is tender 1 to 5 minutes depending on the corn.  Remove 
with tongs and cool to room temp.  Cut the kernels off the cob, making 
sure to scrape out any milky remains and add to the kernels.  Yuu should 
have about 1 1/2 cups.
2.  Combine the poblano and butter in a small skillet over low heat and 
simmer for about 5 minutes until tender.  Remove from the heat.  This 
may seem like a lot of butter for the pepper, but the butter will also 
serve as the fat in the batter.
3.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, corn meal, baking 
powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Add the corn, poblano with all the 
butter, scallions, eggs and milk.  Mix thoroughly but do not over mix, 
or the fritters will be too chewy (think muffins or quick bread).  Cover 
and chill the batter for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.
4.  Before you fry, check the consistency of the batter; it should be 
thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.  It will be thicker than most 
batters (such as muffin batter) and have a gritty texture.  The batter 
can be thickened by sprinkling in more flour, or it can be thinned with 
a few drops of milk.  Heat 2 or 3" oil to 350 degrees F in a deep, heavy 
saucepan.  (I used my bigg-ass cast iron skillet that is about 14" dia x 
2 " deep.)  Spoon into hot oil using 2 spoons or a fancy ice cream scoop 
with the squeeze handle (I recommend the scoop). Drop 1 fritter into the 
hot oil and fry, turning it with tongs or a spoon so that it cooks 
evenly, for about 2 minutes on each side until it is a deep golden 
brown.  Remove it with with tongs or slotted spoon & place on a plate 
lined w/ paper towels to absorb the excess oil.  Check the size; it 
should be about the size of a golf ball, no larger.  Taste this test 
fritter and adjust the seasoning and consistency if necessary.  Salt 
plays an important role in cornmeal-based breads, enhancing the flavor 
of the corn and the cornmeal.
5.  Drop 5 or 6 fritters into the pot.  There should be enough space for 
them to move freely.  Cook 2 or 3 minutes a side until golden brown, 
turning to cook evenly.  Remove, drain, and place on a plate lined w/ 
paper towels.  Keep them in a warm oven while you continue to fry. 
Bring the oil back to 350 degrees F between batches.  Serve as soon as 
possible.

Notes:  The only change I made to this recipe is the type of pepper. 
Next time I'll try a different kind.
These are fantastic.  I was a bit worried because any time I've had 
fritters in a restaurant they are little lead bombs.  These, however, 
are light and airy.  We had some plain, others we dunked into a chipotle 
ranch dressing spiked w/ lots of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce.
I'm making these at Thanksgiving when we fire up the turkey frier!!