Savoury Corn Fritters
Little bundles of deep fried joy.
by Erin Henderson
I'm convinced you could deep fry a shoe, and people would gobble it up. Deep fried things – sometimes dolled up with an exotic name like fritti – are irresistible. It's a simple as that.
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And these fritters are simply irresistible. So much so, I had to fend off prying hands as my family lurked around me, like sharks cicling a wounded seal, while making these. If you would like to see a quick IG reel on how they come together, you can watch it here.
A lot of corn fritters – especially those of the American south – skew sweet, incorporating maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar. I prefer my fritters on the savoury side, so I add in corn's BFF jalepeño for the subtlest tease of heat, and white onion for a delicate pungency. Served with ranch dipping sauce, these are gone in seconds.
I made these when looking to use up the last of the summer corn, when soups and salads had run their course. These make an excellent snack for cocktail hour, or even a delicious side with a homey, fall chili.
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Savoury Corn Fritters
I should really call these Burnt Finger Fritters.
As I was making these little bundles of deep fried joy, removing the scalding fritters from boiling oil to drain on a paper towel, my family kept stealing them from the cooling tray – risking life and limb. But the heart, and tummy, wants what it wants.
A word about frying the corn: occasionally a kernel will pop in the hot oil, sending a light spray into the air. Use a frying screen if you have one, and if you don't, just stand back a little once the batter hits the oil. It doesn't happen a lot, and there's nothing to fear, just be aware it does occasionally happen.
Makes: About 2 litres of batter, enough for 24 fritters
Chef level: moderate
Special equipment: Candy thermometer, spider
Ingredients:
- 4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups plain sparkling water, divided
- 2 tsp Koher salt
- 20 cranks fresh ground pepper
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 4 cups corn kernels (for about 4 cobs)
- ½ cup jalepeño, diced
- ½ cup white onion, diced
How to Make It
- Pour about 3 inches of vegetable oil into a high-sided pot and heat to 375°F over medium/medium-low heat (this will take about 10-15 minutes) – do not boil on high or cover the pot with a lid!
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the eggs and pour in one cup of sparkling water.
- Add in the salt, pepper, baking powder, stirring gently to combine, and, a little at a time, the flour, adding more splashes of water to get a thick but pourable batter, about the density of pancake batter.
- Stir in the corn, jalepeño, and onion. You should have a lumpy batter that is reasonably pourable. It will drip off a spoon. You may worry this is too runny, but fret not, it's what you want.
- When the oil is ready, using a large soup spoon to scoop the batter from the bowl and, using a second soup spoon to push the batter off the first spoon, carefully but quickly put the batter in the hot oil. It will immediately come together, you may lose a kernel or two, but that's fine.
- Continue to dollop the batter in the oil, allowing for plenty of space between them, after about 3 minutes, carefully flip the fritters over to continue to fry for another few mintues until the whole fritter is equally brown – about the colour of caramel, and cooked through. Remove from the hot oil with a spider or slotted spoon and allow to drain on a paper-towel lined try.
- Serve with ranch dressing.
Wine Pairing:
A crisp, dry sparkling wine is my favourite pairing for fried foods. Yes, it's unexpected, but the snappy edges of the wine mop up the rich fat of the fritter, while the oil from the fritter softens the edges of the wine.