Hot & Crisp Fresh Corn Fritters

The kitchen is swelteringly hot with grease spattered from floor to ceiling, but the Fresh Corn Fritters are worth every bit of it!  I've mopped the floor twice and need to change this stained t-shirt. I don't care. The Fritters are fabulous.

Thinking back to a time when frying was something everyone did several times a week, I can remember layers of newspapers spread on the floor in front of the stove, and my grandmother warning us kids to "stay back, this grease is popping!" After frying up these fritters today, my right arm is polka-dotted with red grease burns, like the ones my aunts wore with pride. A forearm covered with burns indicated a good cook.

Of course I don't plan to make this sort of frying a regular habit. While trusting my doctor's insistence that dietary fat has nothing to do with coronary health, the calorie count is clearly prohibitive. Besides, these fritters require fresh corn cut directly from the cob, something rarely found in our house.

I'm looking at the floor, where I still see spots of grease that the mop missed. That's okay. Every once in a while, fritters are fabulous.

Recipe: Fresh Corn Fritters

Heat lard or oil (or combination) in a deep skillet to about 300 degrees. As you cook the fritters, the temperature will vary from about 280 up to 320, so use a thermometer and watch the temperature carefully. Wear long sleeves and an apron because the grease will "pop"!

3 ears of fresh corn
3 eggs
1 c. milk (soy or almond milk is fine.)
1/2 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. brown sugar (optional, if corn is very sweet)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Frying oil or lard

Cut kernels off  cobs. You want 2 1/2 to 3 cups of corn.
Combine with the rest of ingredients.
Heat about 1"oil or lard in deep skillet to about 300 degrees. (It will range from around 280 to 320.)

Spoon a quarter of a cup of batter into hot oil for each fritter. Fry until brown and crisp, turning once.
Remove to rack set over paper towels. Sprinkle fritters with salt and serve hot with applesauce or cole slaw.