SKILLET FRIED CORN
Fried corn is one dish my family can never get enough of and would eat this every day if I would make it for them.
There is nothing any better than fried corn and the fresher the corn the better. I used to bring it straight from the garden, remove the husks, wash, cut the corn off and cook it right then. Today, I get it from the grocery or a roadside vendor and sometimes I even use frozen corn from the supermarket. Any way you do it, fried corn is still good. Serve it with fresh tomatoes for a wonderful addition to any meal.
Ingredients for skillet fried corn:
8 ears fresh corn or 28 ounce package frozen corn
Butter
Bacon drippings
Sugar
Salt to taste
We love to add crumbled bacon on top, just to make this dish even better! This dish is always a hit and we even serve it during the holidays.
“I made this tonight to go with salmon patties and tator tots. I used a little bacon grease and butter to fry it up in. Also….I caramelized some onions to mix in with my salmon patties and made extra to stir into the corn for the last 5 minutes. YUM!!!!!” – LLC
“I fried it with onion, green pepper and tomatoes then put the bacon and oh my gosh so good” – Karen
“My husband’s grandmother, Momma Lida, made this and I learned to replicate it using only butter, salt and pepper with the corn. Make a big batch and keep a zip lock bag in the freezer for the leftovers throughout the season. When Thanksgiving comes, pull that bag out, warm it up and your guests will have a taste of summer again.” – Pam
Full recipe in recipe card below.
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Skillet Fried Corn
Ingredients
- 8 ears fresh corn or 28 ounce package frozen corn
- 1 stick butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons bacon drippings
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Remove husks and silks from fresh corn, wash and cut corn off the cob. Scrape the cob to get out the juice. Melt butter in a large skillet, add fresh or frozen corn, bacon drippings and sugar. Cook on medium high heat until corn is done about 15 to 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Notes
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I love this side dish but I am the only one in my household. I still make it for myself. Next day leftovers are great.
Why did my frozen corn turn out so tough??
You may have overcooked it.. or it was cut tough off the cob.
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but it looks wonderful ! I do have a question: is there no longer an icon to pin the recipes? Did / Am I missing something?
There is a pin icon at the very bottom of every recipe plus we provide a pin. If you can’t see it, you may have an ad blocker on that is blocking certain things from the page.
My family has been doing this for generations. I usually only do it at thanksgiving and Christmas because of the bacon grease. We never used butter or sugar. We usually always used white corn. In winter I try to find two bags of Hanover white frozen. corn. Some times my grandmother would mix flour water salt and pepper and make like a creamed corn. They had a garden so we sometimes had it during the summer with fresh tomatoes and homemade biscuits.
the way my Mom and I made this minus the sugar. I find that if the corn is fresh (esp the bi color corn) sugar’s not needed. PS. If you make this is in a well seasoned iron skillet you will end up with grey corn
Add a little red pepper flakes and it’s out of this world.
I made this tonight to go with salmon patties and tator tots. I used a little bacon grease and butter to fry it up in. Also….I caramelized some onions to mix in with my salmon patties and made extra to stir into the corn for the last 5 minutes. YUM!!!!!
So glad you enjoyed this dish! We love this one too. What a great meal!
How many does this recipe serve? Would like to make it for Thanksgiving…
This makes about 6 servings.
I add fresh corn cut from cob to a pan that I melted 1 stick of butter. Simmer for about 5 minutes add a half can of evaporated milk and if needed a little sugar. Simmer for a bit and you can not leave out the fresh homegrown tomato… yum yum good stuff!!
It freezes well too, once it has cooled completely, if not cooled it will spoil.
I’ve been cooking fried corn for years, however, I did it a little different . I would put a whole can of kernel corn into a fry pan, juice including, and 3 tbl of butter. Sal and pepper,.simmer and stir occasionally until caramelized . My kids loved this and is was an inexpensive way for them to eat their vegs..
Add frozen, fresh, or canned corn to bacon drippings. Add butter and salt and let fry to get flavors mixed. Add a little water and instant grits and let cook down.
I fried it with onion, green pepper and tomatoes then put the bacon and omg so good!
My husband’s grandmother, Momma Lida, made this and I learned to replicate it using only butter, salt and pepper with the corn. Make a big batch and keep a zip lock bag in the freezer for the leftovers throughout the season. When Thanksgiving comes, pull that bag out, warm it up and your guests will have a taste of summer again.
Scrape the cob add flour bacon grease salt and pepper and fry 20 to thirty min- m-m good .
Awesome…thats how my great grandma made.
Oh my word – this corn with a couple of rashers of bacon on pancakes with maple syrup is my idea of heaven on a plate
This was one of my favorite meals when I was growing up. My Dad would fry the corn and when it was almost done he would scramble an egg into it. It became a main dish when you added bacon or diced ham or sliced kielbasa.
So funny how each region has their own version! Mines the same except I sauté an onion in with the drippings and crumble the bacon on top! That’s the lower AL/NW FL way, I went to W VA ordered fried corn and got a deep fried ear of corn..that was strange!!
Live in WVa and never heard of a deep fried ear of corn! Was it good?
You can also use canned yellow Hominy like this. Fry in butter the same way, season with salt and pepper, yum,yum, yum!
My late husband was in charge of this dish, and we all loved it. You just can’t beat butter w/corn!!
My momma added evaporated milk to it to make it creamy.
Oh how i miss my grandmother. My grandparents had a small garden..no corn though but she would go to the farmers market and buy silver queen corn and make fried corn. My favorite meal growing up was an all veggie meal, fried corn, fried okra, green beans, fried squash (not the battered kind), sliced tomatoes, cucumber and onions in garlic wine vinegar and cornbread. Oh my Lord, it was delicious. Thanks for the memories.
I do add the bacon!! It even will make canned corn taste good!
Sounds absolutely wonderful!!!
My Alabama born mother used to make this when I was a child and I love it. Made it for my husband and he ate way too much, but oh was it good. I think Mother used only the bacon grease and salt and pepper-no butter or sugar, but I used butter as you suggested. She added a little milk if it was too dry or a little flour if it was too thin. Tiny bit leftover for the next night.
Hi Ann, Happy you liked this recipe. One of my favorite things along with biscuits and sweets is skillet fried corn. Enjoy your weekend.
I’m from Alabama and have had fried corn all my life. To me the best is served over biscuits for breakfast.
We also grew up on this dish in lower Alabama. Every June, the entire family would put aside a day to clean, cut, scrape, blanche & bag “field corn” (my grandfather owned a dairy farm) so we would have it throughout the winter months. Once the cobs were scraped of kernels, Mom went back over them with a knife to scrap off the “milk”. Back then, there was no easy method for scraping the juices – you just went over the cob until there was no liquid left (what a mess it made). We do the same now with Silver Queen – but the taste of that old white field corn is hard to beat.
I’M GOING TO MAKE THIS SOON AS MY CORN COMES IN .I LOVE CORN ANY WAY IT CAN BE COOKED .YOU HAVE SOME GREAT LOOKING RECIPES LOVE TO COOK SO ITS GOING TO BE GOOD .THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME IN ON IT ILIVE IN ALABAMA THE SOUTH THE BEAUTIFUL !!!!!!!!!
Just made it for dinner tonight and the corn was a big hit. I am going to put the leftovers in my cornbread for tomorrow night
Bacon drippings and butter. I’m in!