I was hugely skeptical of the Nero Wolfe method I read about here, but I tried it and it was by far the best corn I have ever tasted. It needs to be farm-fresh sweet corn, not grocery store corn.
Leave the corn unshucked, put it on a baking tray, oven at 500 F for 45 minutes.
The silk goes away, the shuck peels off like paper, and the corn tastes like birthday cake.
But I donāt want my corn to taste like birthday cake-I want to to taste like corn. Most corn these days is too sweet already.
Also for the record: you can add ketchup to your Chicago dog, too. Youāre the one turning it into poo, so you do you.
There used to be a chip truck nearby that refused to allow ketchup on his fries. Dickhead owner though his fries were too good for ketchup. They were indeed good, but when I have French fries, they get ketchup. I do me, after all.
I meant to go there with a hidden squeezer bottle of ketchup, order fries, and then stand there at the counter laying on the ketchup, staring directly at him while doing so.
He closed during Covid, so missed that opportunity. Luckily chip trucks are everywhere this time of year, so many less-pretentious options abound.
Related, I just found out A&W doesnāt put ice in their root beer. No way, no how. I think Iāll take a McDonalds cup of ice when I order next time, and fill it from their cup to mine, right in front of them.
Isnāt that green relish the sweet type, not dill-based? So a different taste, excellent contrast to the sour pickle.
If you add ketchup then it cannot be a Chicago hot dawg. Themās the rules.
For me, ketchup has such an overpowering flavor that itās all I taste when I put it on something. If Iām ordering fries from some place new to me, I will try the fry first sans ketchup. If you then see me put ketchup on it, it will be because I didnāt think the fry was very good. Thatās just me, though. As you say, you do you.
Nowā¦speaking of relish and ketchupā¦mixing the two together, with a few other things (hot sauce, a little Worcestershire, garlic powder, etc.) , makes an amazing burger sauce. I donāt know how it would taste on a hot dog.
Iām not a ketchup fan. I never put ketchup on fries. If they need ketchup, they arenāt worth the calories.
Truffle oil, or Parmesano Reggiano and rosemary, OTOHā¦
Now for some food. Albacore tuna confit with garlic, sweet onion, fresh oregano and rosemary. (Store bought) focaccia, fresh tomato and lettuce from the garden, and olives. Oh, and soft-boiled eggs.
This. Iāll use BBQ Sauce in the place of ketchup for fries and other things.
For the record, this is what I tend to use.
Best things to go with fries:
Brown gravy (with or without cheese curds)
Curry mayo
Plain mayo
Cheese sauce
Ketchup
According to some sources, the super sweet sweetcorn can be traced back to the āAtoms for Peaceā programme and itās offshoot, āAtomic gardeningā.
(Still looking for other sources to confirm this.)
If weāre really comparing sauces for french fries, there is only one winner: Bearnaise sauce.
Just to bring the discussion full circleā¦I actually like mustard on my fries.
Iām tempted to try this, but usually when we are getting fresh corn, the weather dissuades me from wanting a 500f oven going for 45 minutesā¦
Another corn thing Iām tempted to try this year is the trick about starting with a deepish pot of hot water and tossing in a stick of butter so it melts and floats on top. Then to butter your corn you just dunk the ear down in and voila, pull out a fully buttered ear.
Our growing season is so much later here. The local sweet corn often isnāt ready until late September, so itās not as bad.
Put the unshucked corn on a grill and you could save your home from the oven heat, though there are methods for cooking it in foil and without on a grill.
This is how they do it at the roasted corn stand at the Wisconsin state fair. Works a treat! Probably best used for mass quantities of corn though. Other good ways of getting the butter on the corn include rolling the corn straight on the stick of butter, putting some butter on a piece of bread to spread it on the corn, and using a silicone brush to spread it.
Holy crap! I of thought that before I read your post!
I really do like the one you have now, though!
