Rudy's Creamed Corn
This post originally appeared on July 28th, 2009. It continues to be the most popular way that people find Bluebonnets & Brownies, and it's still one of my favorite ways to bring "home" to our dinner table.
About a week ago, I hosted 4 bloggers in my home for the weekend of Big Summer Potluck.
I served this for dinner on Thursday night with barbecued chicken and Borracho Beans.
It was a feast! With barbecue season nearly at a close, I wanted to make sure you have time to put this on your Labor Day party menu.
You'll be asked for the recipe for weeks to come.
And because this side dish comes together in the slow cooker without much effort, it's the perfect side dish for the grill.
No oven, no mess, and it can be served right in the slow cooker on the table. Enjoy!
If you've been through San Antonio, Austin, Schertz, or Leon Springs in the last 10 years or so, you might have heard about the "worst barbecue in Texas", Rudy's Bar-B-Q.
First, let me go on record that I don't know anyone from Rudy's, and this isn't an endorsement they've asked for.
This is simply my favorite barbecue eatin' place back home.
Their smoked turkey is to die for, but I always have the most ridiculous time choosing between the turkey and the brisket.
Who doesn't love a good Texas brisket?
Sorry, my mouth just watered a little, and it's 8 o'clock in the morning.
But the one thing at Rudy's that is never to be missed is their creamed corn.
The beans are good, the peach cobbler divine (and all served in pint or quart servings), but the creamed corn.. well, I could eat it for breakfast, and I could eat an entire quart on my own.
I'm not ashamed to admit it.
For years, my family has been trying to deconstruct what it consists of, because it's certainly not like any creamed corn you've ever had before.
And it's nothing like that horrible sludge you get in the canned vegetable aisle.
It's full of sweet corn kernals that pop in your mouth with a fresh picked taste, and the sauce.. no, gravy.. melts in your mouth and makes you think of Thanksgiving and Easter and long afternoons spent cooking with your grandma.
I haven't been home, or to Rudy's, in a while. So the other week, when a friend tweeted about trying Rudy's on her roadtrip, I realized I had to try to find a recipe and add it to our barbecue menu for the weekend.
We were having about 30 people over, and I just knew it would be a big hit. I made what I thought would be enough for 50 people.
Yeah... there was none left by the end of the party. I really wanted leftovers for a change, too.
The interweb is great for things like this. I managed to find a "light" version on RecipeZaar, and then just fattened that bad boy up (I wanted to be as authentic as possible for my first attempt).
I don't know what more I can say about this. It's an inspired side dish, and it's good alongside barbecue or a roast dinner (as the English like to say). I nearly cried when I tasted it straight out of the crock-pot.
A little bit of Rudy's, right there in my kitchen. You've really got to try it to believe me.
If you're feeling especially inspired, you could get fresh ears of corn from the farmer's market, and strip them of the kernals, instead of using frozen corn.
Rudy’s Creamed Corn
Rudy's Creamed Corn is a classic Texas barbecue side. This homemade version will make you famous with your family and friends, I promise!
Ingredients
- 4 pounds frozen sweet corn
- 2 8 oz blocks cream cheese, diced into 1 inch squares
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Place frozen corn, cream cheese, salted butter, heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, black pepper, salt, and Parmesan cheese into a slow cooker.
- Simmer on low or medium for at least 4 hours. Stir once or twice during cooking to make sure the gravy comes together.
Notes
- Do not over-salt. There is plenty of salt in the butter and cream cheese. Over-salting will ruin this dish.
- If you want a lighter version of this, please follow the recipe on RecipeZaar that this recipe is adapted from.
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Aloha Bryon and everyone,
THANKS so much. I didn't think to use a roux but that would do it, because I thought I had the taste very close.
Do you recall if any flour was used to make the roux? As in, was it done on the stove, with some butter, flour and the milk and cream and then put into the corn? (Just if you remember... 🙂 )
And hey... I don't live anywhere near a Rudys... so... you know... I just HAVE to make do with a home recipe instead. 🙂
And if I DID near live a Rudys - I'd be eating there about every night anyway - no time to cook at home. LOL.
Thanks again for that heads up. I will have another go soon. Aloha Meg 🙂
Rue. To thicken you use rue. Other than that, you have come up with most of the recipe. I can't tell you measurements as it has been ages since I made it(at home and when I worked for them).
Salt, Sugar, White Pepper, Rue, Parmesan, frozen corn, heavy whipping cream, and whole milk
I've made it at events at home, I remember signing a waiver when I joined the team in Leon Springs and then opened the one in Westover Hills about not releasing the recipe. I guess the ingredients doesn't break that right? LoL. RiP Doc.
Aloha guys! Thanks so much for everyones comments and Ambers recipe - without it, I wouldn't have know where to start. And thanks Ashley for the added bits - perfect. 🙂
Ok, I tried again tonight. 🙂 Not quite right but the flavour is very close! So if anyone else has anything to add - I'd gladly welcome it.
The one I made tonight was this recipe below: However, I think it needed to have say 1/2 to 3/4 of a teas of the white pepper and maybe less milk - more cream??? Any suggestions - feel free.
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (maybe double the cream, half the milk??)
2 lb of frozen corn
1 teas white pepper (I'd use maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a teas - it was only very slightly too tangy)
1 teas salt
1/2 cup of grated parmesan (the parmesan seemed about right for the taste)
4 tbls sugar.
I thought it had the 'Rudys taste' but not the creaminess. I'm wondering about adding the cream cheese? What does everyone think?
And again THANKS... 🙂
Oh hey, I work at one of the Rudy's in Austin. We don't use cream cheese in our corn, but we do use white pepper, a bit of parmesan cheese, sugar, whole milk, heavy whipping cream, and some salt.
People eat the corn like it's their last meal on earth though. That's for sure.
Thank you Ashley! You are a GOD. 🙂 I have made this recipe and it's really good and I have mucked with a bit - because it's not quite Rudys - so thanks so much. I had Rudys corn once and I can still taste it precisely in my head. 🙂 .
I have been wondering about the Parmesan and I will try the white pepper also. I have only recently been using white pepper as compared to fresh ground black and it's quite a different taste - almost sweet - very nice!
So THANKS... we made a 2 pd bag of corn last time for 3 of us - and it was guzzled. LOL.
Ashley,
Thanks so much for stopping by. I think you'd be surprised at how much the cream cheese mimics the combination of parmesan, whole milk, and whipping cream.
I'll definitely be adding the white pepper and parmesan the next time I make this. As I said in the post, I adapted this recipe from something I found on a diet website. While I never claimed it was the exact Rudy's Creamed Corn recipe, it's as close as I've come without begging one of your cooks outright for the recipe.
My uncle was good friends with the original Rudy's store owner in Leon Springs. They've both eaten this and tell me it's pretty good. I hope you'll try it 🙂
Getting the exact recipe for Rudy's corn is almost impossible. I will say (as a former employee) that there is no cream cheese in their version. The corn made in the Original Rudy's is made with a secret roux that is prepared in their commissary and then shipped to their store. The rest of the creamed corn is prepared in the unit with the roux, corn and heavy cream.
My mom made a fried corn and when I had Rudy's it took me back. It tasted just like it. As far as I recall, my mom's was made with a roux of flour, bacon grease, butter an and milk. Then she added sugar and lots of pepper. Heaven. I made this recipe with the cream cheese and it was good but not the same as Rudy's to me.
My mom made a fried corn and when I had Rudy's it took me back. It tasted just like it. As far as I recall, my mom's was made with a roux of flour, bacon grease, butter. Then she added sugar and lots of pepper. Heaven. I made this recipe with the cream cheese and it was good but not the same as Rudy's to me.
I was looking for a super easy corn dish for a Christmas dinner. This is PERFECT! It's in a *crock pot*! It doesn't get any easier than that! Thank you!!
Am anxious to try this recipe for Christmas Dinner. My nephew LOVES Rudy's BBQ and especially the corn. He has been deployed to Afghanistan and will be home just in time for Christmas! Thank you!
AMAZING recipe! I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a TOTAL crowd pleaser! Even my mother-in-law couldn't find anything negative to say and even asked for the recipe...Even better, my father-in-law insisted on taking home leftovers (well, what little there was!) Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I'd post a photo if I could! <3
OMG... thank you SO SO MUCH. To say that we LOVE Rudys Creamed Corn would be an understatement. I could eat pottles and pottles of the stuff and so could my husband.
If you haven't tried it, please try this recipe. I have never had anything like this creamed corn in my life. Thanks 🙂
I was just thinking that some Rudy's creamed corn would be the perfect addition to my Thanksgiving table tomorrow but was bummed they'd be closed (I'm lucky enough to still be living here in Austin). This is the recipe that made the cut! Sounds sooooo savory- can hardly wait to try it!
As bummed as you were that we were closed... us team members were very happy to get a much needed holiday off!
I am looking for a recipe for creamed corn that is sweet. How sweet is this recipe?
Also, how many servings does this make?
Tiffany,
This recipe is meant for a crowd so it makes 20-25 servings, but ifs easily scalable. It is sweet, but not dessert sweet. You could always up the amount of sugar to your own tastes. It won't mess anything up if you do.
Amber,
I lived in San Antonio for 7 years and that was one of the 1st placec we were taken to. Creamed Corn was my favorite other than the briskit. Thank you for publishing the recipe, I am making it tomorrow.
Janie
Amber ... hi there! I found your blog by searching google for "Rudy's creamed corn recipe". Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! I've bookmarked your blog and can't wait to come back and sift through your archives and get acquainted when I have a bit more time.
I really have to share a quick story with you. I live in SATX, and the other day my sister got a hankering for Rudy's BBQ, so she picked some up on the way home. My mouth was already watering before she hit the door, (the best smoked turkey EVER), but when she started unpacking the meal, I'll have to say that I got a pitiful sad face and was so disappointed.
Sitting there on the kitchen counter was a tub of creamed corn. Oh, yuck!!!! I've NEVER liked creamed corn of any kind; in fact, I never even liked the idea of creamed corn. It just had no place in my kitchen. I was grumbling to myself something along the lines of, "she KNOWS I don't like creamed corn - I can't believe that's the only side dish she brought home - how rude of her", and just about that time, she turned around and saw my pouting face and said, "I know you don't like cream corn, but that's because you haven't tried Rudy's creamed corn before".
Not wanting to be totally rude, (after all, she did buy dinner), I spooned an itsy bitsy portion of creamed corn onto my plate and shuffled off, muttering something to myself about being forced to eat baby food and having to pretend to like it, or something along those lines.
Well, I guess you know what happened next. After the very first bite of creamed corn, I went rushing back to the kitchen, where I helped myself to a very generous portion of that golden deliciousness! I would never have believed that there was a creamed corn that could become my friend, but now, after tasting Rudy's creamed corn, I have a friend for life!
I guess the moral of the story is two-fold:
No matter how old you are, don't forget to try new things.
If you find something you love, don't forget to share it with others!
Again, thanks for sharing the recipe ... I can't wait to give it a try!
Nancy,
I can totally relate to that experience! My goodness how I miss that smoked turkey.. I really need to get a smoker and get to work on making it. We buy big jars of the Rudy's Rub to bring home, but it's just not the same without that smokey flavor too.
I love this: "If you find something you love, don't forget to share it with others" - totally why I have this blog!
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and let me know how you liked the recipe.
- Amber
Hello again, Amber. Yesterday I was making homemade salisbury steak with rosemary garlic roasted potatoes, and I thought it would be the perfect day to try the new creamed corn recipe that you so generously shared. I was only cooking for two people, so I cut your recipe to a 1/4 share of everything, so it looked something like this:
1 bag frozen corn (1 lb)
1/2 box cream cheese (4 oz)
1/4 stick of salted butter (1 oz)
just shy of 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt (just a pinch)
I did it on the stove top, combining everything but the corn into a small saucepan on low heat until the cheese was melted and bubbly, and then adding in the still frozen corn, stirring thoroughly, and then covering it and leaving it on low heat for more than an hour (while I was cooking the salisbury steak and rosemary garlic potatoes). I left the lid on the pot all of the time, only checking it to stir the ingredients once about every fifteen minutes.
After an hour, I did my first taste test, and it was yummy deliciousness! My sister and I both have a sweet tooth, so for our version, I doubled the amount of sugar, (meaning for that my 1/4 portion of the recipe, I ended up adding another tablespoon of sugar, making it a total of 2 tbls of sugar for 1 lb of corn). The result was super delicious, and we already know this will be one of those recipes that show up on our table again and again. Leaving it simmering over low heat for an hour allowed the sweet deliciousness to seep into the corn kernels, but I think the next time I try the recipe, I'll try the crock pot method, to allow it even more time to marry the sweet flavors together.
Thanks again for sharing this delicious recipe! It's a winner!
You're SO right about that! 🙂 Thanks!!
I've been drooling over this recipe for months. My husband just got back from a deployment to Afghanistan and my dad sent a whole brisket from Rudy's so we can celebrate! (I'm SO glad they ship now! Expensive but worth it!!) This is going to be the perfect side; we've already got the Shiner in the fridge. Thank you for posting it! 🙂
Lauren, your comment made my day! As the granddaughter of a Lt. Col., I would be remiss if I did not thank both you and your husband for your service, so - Thank you.
I bet that meal is going to be the best you two have had in a long time, and it's going to have nothing to do with the food.
Talk about a welcome home!
Amber, thanks for adding this to the recipe exchange. I love creamed corn and this recipe is different from any that I've tried before. Gotta try it!