Sweet Corn Ice Cream Salty Popped Corn And Caramel Candied Bacon Recipes

SWEET CORN ICE CREAM, SALTY POPPED CORN AND CARAMEL-CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• For the sweet corn ice cream: Heat a heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream, milk, vanilla beans, corn cobs and kernels, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a scald, being careful not to curdle the cream. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar in a large bowl, until fully incorporated, reaching a creamy, golden consistency. Once the milk mixture comes to a boil, strain it into a large bowl. Remove the corn cobs, kernels and vanilla beans. Remove the vanilla bean seeds by scraping the beans with the back of your knife. Add the seeds to the milk mixture. Discard the corn cobs and use a ladle or a wooden spoon to push any liquids through the remaining solids, into the milk mixture. Discard the solids. Add the salt. Slowly add the milk mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly as you pour, tempering it to make sure the eggs don't scramble.
• Quickly wipe out the original saucepan and return the milk mixture to the pan. Put the pan over medium heat, stirring consistently until you reach a thickened consistency, that coats the back of a spoon, about 3 to 5 minutes. Strain the ice cream mixture into a new bowl and immediately put the bowl over an ice bath, stirring, to cool quickly. Once chilled down completely, pour it into an ice cream machine and spin according to manufacturer's instructions. Remove the ice cream to a large container and put it in the freezer to help set up the right consistency.
• For the popcorn: Heat the olive oil in a medium-size saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels and cover with a lid. Cook according to the package directions until the corn is fully popped. Once popped and still hot, salt generously. Set aside.
• Use a spoon to shape a scoop of ice cream onto each serving plate. Spoon some of the candied bacon generously over the ice cream on each plate and garnish with the popcorn. Taste!
• To a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil and bacon. Render the bacon until crunchy, about 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to be sure it's not sticking to the pan. Once fully crisp, pour off a little excess fat. Add the brown sugar to the bacon in the pan and stir it to dissolve and caramelize. Stir in the lemon juice and cream, and stir well to combine. Adjust consistency with more cream if needed.
• Yield: 1/4 cup

SWEET CORN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Make the custard: Whisk the corn, half-and-half, sour cream, sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lightly beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk about 1/4 cup of the warm corn mixture into the beaten egg yolks, then pour into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the hot custard to a blender and pulse until smooth (keep the filler cap slightly open to let steam escape). Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard the solids. Stir often until the mixture cools to room temperature. Lightly press plastic wrap directly against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cold, about 3 hours. (For faster chilling, set the bowl of custard in a bowl of ice water and stir until cold.)
• Freeze the cold custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
• Scoop the ice cream into bowls. Top with caramel corn or a splash of bourbon, if desired.

NO-CHURN SWEET CORN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the corn kernels and cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Break the corn cobs into pieces and add them to the pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Gently simmer the mixture 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and let cool completely.
• Discard the corn cobs and pour the rest of the cream mixture into a blender. Blend on high until mostly smooth, about 1 minute. Strain into a bowl and refrigerate until cold, 1 to 2 hours.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the cream mixture on high speed until it forms soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. (Note that this will not whip to quite the volume of regular whipped cream because of the corn, but it will get to soft peaks.)
• Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Fold about half of the whipped cream mixture into the sweetened condensed milk mixture with a rubber spatula, then fold the lightened mixture into the whipped cream until well blended. Pour into a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
• To serve, scoop into glasses or bowls and garnish with caramel coated popcorn, if desired.