Sweet Corn and Bacon Skillet Mac & Cheese
Try this Sweet Corn and Bacon Skillet Mac and Cheese recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Sweet Corn and Bacon Skillet Mac and Cheese recipe, or contribute your own.
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk (i used skim)
- 1/2 lb gluten-free or regular gemelli or other short-cut pasta
- 4 strips bacon chopped
- 1-1/2 cups sweet corn kernels (about 2 ears)
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free or all-purpose flour
- 2 cups freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 vine-ripened tomato chopped
- Carbohydrate 1.39445625000183 g
- Cholesterol 264.291562506541 mg
- Fat 64.6104406274674 g
- Fiber 0.369000014662743 g
- Protein 60.6188968750259 g
- Saturated Fat 21.067900834896 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (429g)
- Sodium 508.724309913356 mg
- Sugar 1.02545623533908 g
- Trans Fat 5.73643145850606 g
- Calories 844 calories
Step-by-step
- Add pasta to a large pot of salted, boiling water then cook until al dente. Drain then set aside.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat then add bacon and cook until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate then set aside. Remove all but 1 teaspoon bacon fat from the skillet then add sweet corn and season with salt and pepper. Saute until just barely tender, 3-4 minutes, then remove to a plate and set aside.
- Melt butter in skillet then add flour and stir for 30 seconds. Slowly add milk and chicken broth while whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper then switch to a wooden spoon and cook, stirring near constantly, until the mixture is thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat then add cheese and stir until smooth.
- Add cooked pasta, bacon, and corn into the skillet then stir to combine. Serve topped with chopped tomatoes.
Stirring the milk and chicken broth into the butter-flour roux requires a steady wrist and continuous whisking to prevent lumps from forming before the liquid reaches a simmer. Cooking this dairy base over medium heat for roughly five minutes allows the starches in the flour to swell and absorb the liquid, creating a viscous matrix capable of holding two cups of shredded cheddar without breaking the emulsion. Skim milk can replace whole milk without curdling, though the lower fat content yields a noticeably thinner sauce that relies more heavily on the cheese solids for body.
Rendering the bacon over medium heat leaves behind precisely one teaspoon of fat in the skillet to sauté the sweet corn kernels for three to four minutes until they turn bright yellow and tender-crisp. Retaining that exact amount of pork fat imparts a savory baseline to the vegetables while preventing the pan from becoming greasy when the roux is built. Swapping fresh sweet corn for frozen kernels requires thawing and thoroughly blotting them on paper towels first; excess moisture introduced here will thin the cheese sauce prematurely.
Freshly shredded cheddar cheese melts far more smoothly than pre-bagged varieties coated in cellulose powder, which inhibits clean emulsification. Removing the skillet entirely from the heat source before folding in the cheese prevents the dairy proteins from tightening and separating into an oily grain. Short-cut pasta shapes like gemelli feature tight spirals and ridges designed to trap pieces of crispy bacon and small kernels within every fold.
Balancing the sharp cheddar with fresh tomatoes adds an acidic contrast that cuts through the heavy lipids of the cheese and bacon fat. Combining starchy pasta water with the roux can further adjust viscosity if the sauce thickens too rapidly during the final toss. Serving this dish immediately preserves the creamy integrity of the cheddar sauce before ambient cooling causes the starches to set firmly.
