Creamy Old Bay Corn Salad

This warm and creamy corn salad is prepared with old bay seasoning, fried onions, bell peppers, garlic, and tomatoes. It’s a perfect side dish for a backyard barbecue or a weeknight cold weather dinner. Serve with your favourite mains or spoon it onto grilled burgers and hot dogs. This side is versatile and delicious!

Have you ever heard of maque choux? It is a side dish which is super popular in certain regions of the southern United States. It is particularly popular in Louisiana. Just like in this Creamy Old Bay Corn Salad, the ingredients commonly found in maque choux are corn, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Those ingredients are cooked until they soften and then spiced with a creole-style seasoning.

The recipe is said to have Cajun French origins. When the Acadians immigrated from the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia to Louisiana, the Native Americans introduced them to corn. Corn soon became the main ingredient in other local dishes and was frequently included in crawfish boils. It is often thought that the term was the French interpretation of a Native American word.

Taking inspiration from this dish only, and not claiming to be an expert in either of those particular cuisines, this is my interpretation of a maque choux recipe. It’s absolutely delicious and in my version, I’m adding my own spin on the flavour with one of my favourite seasoning blends – Old Bay! You have got to try this!

OLD BAY SEASONING

Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Did you know that Old Bay Seasoning was developed by a German immigrant to Maryland, US, in 1939? Fresh crab was so popular in the area that local bars used to cook them up and give them to their patrons for free – kinda like some bars nowadays with bowls of peanuts. Well, to encourage patrons to buy more drinks at the bar, the seasoning blend was invented by Gustav Brunn with excess amounts of salt; the more seasoned crab patrons ate, the thirstier they became!

The seasoning mix includes mustard, paprika, celery salt, bay leaf, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, mace, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger. The seasoning is mostly used to season crab and shrimp, but it can also be used in chowders and stews.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – You can use oil if you want, but the combination of butter and corn cannot be beaten!
• Onion – I use yellow, white, and sweet onions interchangeably.  Either of them will do just fine.
• Bell Pepper – You can use any colour, but I used green because the contrast of the green pepper with the red of the tomatoes looks better.
• Tomatoes – Use canned tomatoes for this recipe. It just tastes better with canned rather than fresh!
• Garlic – Fresh garlic will result in the best flavour every single time. 
• Frozen Corn – This is the easy way out. If you want to cook fresh corn and remove it from the cob, you can do that too.
• Cream – Use a heavier cream, like 35% or even a half and half. Don’t use regular milk, because it’s just not thick enough.
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• Old Bay Seasoning – In essence, this is the star of this recipe and is the flavour you want when all is said and done.

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY OLD BAY CORN SALAD

Once you have chopped the onions and peppers, and minced the garlic, this recipe all comes together quite easily and quickly. Here’s how to do it!

Add the butter (or bacon grease!) to a large cast iron skillet. Over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onions. Cook the onions for 3-4 minutes, or until just translucent. Next, add the bell pepper. Stir into the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Then, add in the garlic, stir well, and cook for another minute.

Next, add in the frozen corn, canned tomatoes, and cream. Add in the salt and ground black pepper too. Stir all the ingredients together and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often. Finally, add in the old bay seasoning. Stir well into the corn mixture and cook for 5 more minutes. Garnish with fresh-cut parsley and serve immediately.

FROZEN CORN

In most cases, I use frozen corn in my recipes rather than fresh corn that has been removed from the cob. Would I prefer fresh corn? Yes, of course! But, fresh corn is not always available where I live, so frozen corn is the next best thing. Also, whenever I use frozen corn, I know I’m getting the next best thing without the need to shuck and clean it! And, unlike fresh corn, you don’t need to boil or cook frozen corn first. You just heat it through and it’s good to go!

Frozen corn can come in handy at any moment, whether you need an extra side dish or want to incorporate it into a dish you are already cooking. There are many ways to heat and cook frozen corn, from roasting to steaming, that can provide a variety of textures and flavours.

The frozen corn you buy from the grocery store is just like fresh corn. It is harvested at its peak and removed from the cob. From there, it goes into a quick boil to wash the corn and kill any enzymes or bacteria. Next, it is drained and packaged into bags immediately. From there it is flash-frozen and remains in a frozen state until it reaches your home.

In most cases, frozen corn is cheaper than fresh corn when comparing volume. And, if it saves me from having to shuck it, clean it, and cook it, I’m all in! I’m one of those food bloggers that have no problem with telling you to take the easy way out. Save the corn on the cob for your grill!

NEVER BUY DICED TOMATOES IN A CAN

Canned tomatoes can be found anywhere and they come in so many shapes, sizes, and textures. Here are my steadfast rules for buying canned tomatoes. I apologize if you’ve read this on my blog before, but it’s worth repeating.

First, if you need tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, buy them in a glass jar. You can see what you’re buying. The colour should be bright and vivid; the sauce/tomatoes should look fresh and cohesive. If there are seeds or pieces of tomato skin, move on to another brand.

Second, if you need chopped or diced tomatoes, always buy whole tomatoes. When produce companies can the tomatoes, the best tomatoes are packed in the cans marked “whole.” The blemished, not-so-perfect tomatoes, are crushed, chopped, or pureed and sold as such.

I would rather buy canned whole tomatoes (they’re always the same price!) and spend the extra two minutes chopping them myself so that I know I’m getting really good and really ripe tomatoes.

STORING LEFTOVERS

If you happen to have any leftovers, be sure that the corn is completely cooled down before transferring it to a food-safe container. Place on a tight-fitting lid and store it in your refrigerator. Personally, I would recommend eating the leftovers within two days.

To reheat, transfer the corn to a skillet. Do not add any butter or oil! Warm the corn over medium heat, stirring often. Alternatively, you can transfer the corn to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it on medium heat in increments of 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir between each increment. Enjoy!