Slow Cooker Sunday: Grilled corn gives chowder a summery feel

Dish up a big bowl of comfort food that gets its start with grilled corn, crispy bacon and delectable roasted garlic.

This chowder has so much going for it because it’s made with such rich and tasty ingredients. Half the battle with making this wonderful chowder is not to snack on the ingredients. Don’t be like me where you have to make more bacon because of snacking on a few too many pieces.

And then there’s the grilled corn. When it’s cut off the cob in those big clumpy pieces, boy is it ever easy to snack on.

No matter if it’s sunny, rainy or snowy out, this is a perfect meal to make on any day. Just remember to treat yourself and put on those fuzzy slippers, sit back, and relax while enjoying a big bowl of this heavenly chowder.

Slow cooker grilled corn, roasted garlic and bacon chowder recipe

Thick and creamy grilled corn chowder made in a slow cooker with roasted garlic and bacon topped with crispy bacon, more grilled corn and parsley.

Serves 2

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 6 hours, 45 minutes | Total time: 7 hours, 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 ears of corn on the cob, shucked and roasted on the barbecue
• 1 garlic bulb
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 8 pieces of bacon, chopped and cooked until crispy (1/2 for the chowder, 1/2 for garnish)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 medium-size potatoes, peeled and chopped in small pieces
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lay a piece of foil out flat and put the bulb of garlic in the middle. Top with olive oil.
3. Wrap the foil around the garlic to form a “tent” and bake in the oven until the garlic is soft and is lightly browned (about 45 minutes). Remove from the oven and let cool.
4. While the garlic is roasting in the oven, in the middle of a large bowl, lay a small bowl upside down.
5. Prop an ear of roasted corn in the middle of the upside down bowl and carefully cut the corn off of the cob so that it falls into the bottom of the large bowl.
6. Repeat with the remaining ears of corn.
7. From the cut corn, reserve about a 1/2 cup of the larger “clumps” of corn to use for garnish later. Set these pieces aside.
8. In a slow cooker, add the remaining corn (from the large bowl), chicken broth, bacon (that is just for the chowder), butter, potatoes, onion, celery, half-and-half, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir together.
9. Once the garlic has cooled enough to handle, lay it on a plate and remove each clove from the bulb.
10. On each clove of garlic, lay the back of a spoon and slightly push down to squeeze out the roasted garlic. Add all of the roasted garlic to the slow cooker. Stir together.
11. Set the slow cooker on the 6-hour setting, cover and cook.
12. After 6 hours, use a potato masher to gently mash the ingredients in the slow cooker. The corn and bacon should stand up to the masher while the potatoes should soften just enough to thicken up the chowder.
13. Taste the chowder to see if more salt is needed.
14. Serve hot and top with parsley, the remaining bacon and pieces of roasted corn.

More chowder recipes

Pesto corn chowder
Cheesy asparagus chowder
Slow cooker carrot, parsnip and potato chowder