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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If you were going to make 1/4 of this recipe, would you still cook it for 4 hours on low?
Hey Em,
I think you could probably cut the cooking time down to an hour or two. I think it would depend on the size of crock pot you used as well. The first time you make it, just watch it and make sure there's no burning.
visited rudy,s in austin all the way from scotland turkey &brisket were fabulous as was the
creamed corn.goin to give it ago
Tastes just like Rudy's!! Mine was done in 3 hours though
I just found this on pinterest and I'm so excited! Back when you could still bring outside food on planes, my dad brought me a quart of this stuff from Rudy's (from Houston to Nashville) because he knew I would love it. And he was right! Can't wait to try!
Katie, as far as I know, you can still bring outside food on planes. I do all the time.
I hope you come back and let me know how you like this recipe. As you can see from the comments, there's a lot of divisiveness about this recipe, but I personally think it's as close as we're going to get without making a roux and a giant batch of corn.
I lived in San Antonio for 9 years, and Rudy's is the BEST BB-Q I have EVER eaten. My husband is military, and we have lived all over the world, so that is saying a lot about BB-Q 🙂
I love the creamed corn recipe you have posted, but for a Tex-Mex blend try adding jalapenos and garlic salt. The flavor is AMAZING!
Marie, those sound like faboosh additions! I completely agree about Rudy's being the best BBQ. Every year, I pine for them at the NYC Big Apple BBQ. Salt Lick is amazing and delicious, but no one touches Rudy's smoked turkey.
- Amber
I saw this and just had to try it! We just had it for supper and it was a huge success. Thank you for posting the recipe!
Sheri, I'm so glad you loved it! It's one of our favorites, and for good reason. Thanks for taking the time to come by and leave a comment.
I've never had this type of creamed corn before. Stumbled onto this from Pinterest and decided to make it for our Canada Day BBQ. It was a huge hit, thank you! It will be going into my regular rotation of potluck and party dishes.
This sounds so amazing ....I can't wait to make this! I just have one question...how many servings does the recipe yield?
Maria,
I know I already emailed you back directly, but for other readers' use, I'm posting a reply here too. This makes at least 10-15 servings as a side dish, but is also easily halved.
I am so in love with Rudy's creamed corn. I just about cried when I found this recipe. Will be making for dinner very soon and I know I'll be enjoying every last bit of it!!!
Chelsea, I really hope you love it as much as we do. According to all the comments, it's not necessarily a replica of Rudy's recipe. But I gotta be honest, I think it tastes pretty much dead on. We never have any leftovers, that's for sure. Let me know how you like it!
When I was going through cancer treatment 10 years ago, a lady at the Hope Lodge where I stayed gave us this recipe, except hers only had butter, cream cheese and corn. We still make it to this day and you are right, there are NEVER any leftovers!! I really want to try your recipe though. I like the idea of the corn being even sweeter with the addition of the sugar and slow cooking it in a crock pot!! So glad to have found your recipe/site!!
Rudy's puts condensed milk in their creamed corn...
A Rudy's just opened up here in Phoenix, and we tried it for the first time two days ago. I think I've already raved to 10 different people about the smoked turkey and that CRAZY GOOD creamed corn. So glad I googled it today and found you!!!!
I was just trying to explain Rudy's Creamed Corn to my husband the other day. Now I can just make it for him!!! Thank you so much!
Hi Amber!
I'm from San Antonio, but I live in Boerne. I love your website! I'm going to try this recipe because I love Rudy's creamed corn as much as you do from the sound of it. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Aloha Michelle and everyone,
Thanks so much.
I made it again the other night with a roux and it was much thicker and more like Rudys. I made it the regular way and couldn't be fagged putting it in the slow cooker - so just did it in a pot on the stove. Once it was all blended, I added the roux and cooked it down further. I cooked it altogether for about an hour on the stove top.
I made up a roux of 2 tbls of butter melted and frothy, then added 2 tbls of flour to it - let it cook for about a minute and then stirred it into the corn mixture. Then let the corn cook for another 20 minutes of longer to thicken up.
In saying this, I think that the 1 teas of white pepper would do the trick when adding the roux. 3/4 teas seemed to be not ENOUGH this time. Just missing it's lovely tang but the consistency was much better.
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 lb of frozen corn
1 teas white pepper
1 teas salt
1/2 cup of grated parmesan (the parmesan seemed about right for the taste)
4 tbls sugar.
2 tbls of butter
2 tbls of flour
Thanks every one, just love this recipe. Aloha Meg 🙂