Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes and Cayenne

We wanted a recipe that delivered everything we sought: velvety texture, unambiguous corn flavor, plentiful kernels, and delicacy. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• We began with fresh corn. You’ll need a half dozen medium ears—use a chef’s knife to cut the kernels off the husked and silked ears.
• For depth, cook the onions and corn in the rendered bacon fat. This technique adds toasty, slightly caramelized flavors to the corn and by extension, the chowder.
• This variation uses sweet potatoes in the chowder instead of potatoes.
• To thicken the chowder and intensify flavor, instead of a traditional flour and butter roux, we pureed canned corn with some chicken broth. This produced a golden, satiny chowder base with a vibrant, fresh corn taste.
• Some recipes call for milk, but we preferred cream, which underlined the chowder’s velvety texture. A bit of curry powder added depth, and maple syrup drew out even more sweetness.
• Reserve the corn cobs to toss into the simmering chowder, and fish them out before serving. They contribute subtle but significant corn flavor.