Carolina corn bisque with applewood-smoked bacon, pickled blueberry, foie gras mousse, grilled focaccia
Recipe courtesy of Blair Cannon, CEC, WSETII, CFE, Executive Chef, Forsyth Country Club (Winston Salem, N.C.)
Ingredients
- Ingredients for Carolina Corn Bisque:
- chicken stock, blond - 2 quarts
- fresh Carolina corn - 8 ears, shucked, kernels Removed (save the cobbs) (need 4 cups for soup base and 2 cups of kernels for plating)
- applewood smoked bacon - 4 oz., slice into 1/4-inch strips
- butter - 4 Tbsp., unsalted (reserve 2 Tbsp.)
- yellow onion - 1 cup, small-diced
- leeks - 1 cup, leaned and sliced thin (green tops removed)
- garlic - 4 Tbsp., peeled and rough chopped
- bay leaves - 1/2 oz., dried (4-5 roughly)
- fresh thyme - 1 Tbsp., destemmed, lightly chopped (reserve thyme stems for pickling liquid)
- sage - 1/2 Tbsp., dried
- Hungarian smoked paprika - 1/2 Tbsp., ground
- white wine (chardonnay preferred) - 1 cup
- Sherry wine - 2 fl. oz.
- Idaho potatoes - 2 cups, ashed, peeled, and medium-diced
- kosher salt - to taste
- white pepper - to taste
- heavy cream - 2 cups
- Ingredients for Pickled Blueberries:
- pickling spice blend - 1 Tbsp.
- shallots - 2 Tbsp., rough chopped
- brown sugar, light - 1/2 cup
- red wine vinegar - 1 cup
- kosher salt - 1/2 Tbsp.
- thyme - 4 sprigs, fresh
- blueberries - 45 ea., fresh and washed
- Ingredients for Foie Gras Mousse:
- foie gras morsels - 400 gms., soaked in milk overnight
- pink cure salt #1 - 6 gms.
- sugar - 6 gms., granulated
- bourbon, Jack Daniels Black - 10 ml.
- brandy - 10 ml.
- thyme - 1 Tbsp., fresh, lightly Chopped
- black pepper - 1/2 tsp., finely ground
- Ingredients for Garnishing:
- olive oil grilled focaccia crostini - 12 ea., sliced (2.5in x 1.5in x 0.25in)
- sautéed corn and smoked bacon/onion mixture - 3 cups (reserved from corn bisque process)
- micro arugula - 1 oz.
Instructions
Procedure for the Corn Bisque:
- Place the corn cobbs in a sauce pot and cover with a blond chicken stock. Simmer for 30 minutes then strain and reserve.
- Heat a medium heavy bottom sauce pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and render the bacon down until caramelized. Remove from the heat and remove the bacon from the pot to drain on paper towels. Discard or save half of the bacon fat leftover in the pot.
- Place the pot back on the stove on medium low heat. Add the onions, leeks, butter and garlic then sweat until lightly translucent. Remove from the heat and remove half of the mixture with the reserved crispy bacon.
- Place the pot back on the stove over medium low heat. Stir in the bay leaves, thyme, sage and paprika. Season with a little bit of kosher salt and pepper.
- Deglaze the pot with the white wine and sherry wine. Add the potatoes and the corn infused chicken stock. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once simmered, remove the bay leaves, and add the 4 cups of corn kernels. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and puree the soup in batches. Purée in a high speed blender being careful of the hot steam. Strain through a chinois back into a sauce pot.
- Add the heavy cream, bring to a simmer, and season with salt and white pepper.
- Reserve hot for plating.
Procedure for the Pickled Blueberries:
- Place all of the ingredients except for the blueberries into a small non-reactive sauce pot.
- Place the blueberries into a quart container.
- Bring the pickling liquid to a boil, then turn the heat to a low, and gently simmer for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, strain through a fine mesh chinois strainer, and then pour the hot liquid over the blueberries.
- Place the pickled blueberries into an ice bath and cool down completely.
- Cover with container lid, place into the refrigerator, and allow the blueberries to pickle overnight.
Procedure for Foie Gras Mousse:
- Preheat an immersion circulator to 145°F or 63°C in a small half lexan.
- Push the foie gras through a fine sieve, then combine all ingredients together in a small mixer and mix thoroughly.
- Place into a vacuum seal bag and combine so the foie is as flat as possible. Trim the bag to leave at least 2 inches above edge of the foie gras mixture inside the bag. Seal tight per your vacuum sealers settings.
- Place the foie gras mixture into the circulator bath and poach for 5 minutes. (Converting to larger quantities will add time to cooking.)
- Once poached, remove the foie gras from the bag and place into a stainless steel bowl set in stiff ice bath.
- Add the thyme and black pepper. Whisk the mixture with a piano whisk until completely cool and glossy. Place into a piping bag with a small star tip and reserve in the cooler.
To Assemble:
- Place a sauté pan over medium heat. Add a little bacon fat or butter to the pan, then add the reserved corn kernels and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the reserved bacon/onion mixture from steps 2-3 on the soup procedures to a sauté pan. Once hot, place into 12 soup cups or appropriate sized vessels.
- Pour 3-4 fluid ounces of the hot soup around the bacon/onion mixture.
- On the grilled focaccia, pipe the foie mousse on the left side, arrange 3 pickled blueberries on the right side, and lightly press into the side of the piped foie gras mousse. Garnish with micro arugula.
