The Simple Way To Turn Canned Corn Into A Flavor-Packed Dish

Canned vegetables definitely serve a purpose. They are a quick, easy, and affordable way to get nutrients in a meal, and they are easy to store so you can always have some veggies on hand in a pinch. And while the easiest option is to just heat them up with a bit of seasoning for a simple side dish, wise cooks know that canned veggies are surprisingly easy to upgrade into something that no one will ever guess came out of a can. For canned corn in particular, all you need to do is cook it with onions and bacon for a flavorful upgrade.

Corn comes in different varieties, each with a slightly different taste, but this vegetable is typically known for a mildly sweet flavor that goes great in everything from soup to bread or simply tossed into your salad. But that also opens it up to some pretty great flavor pairings, like the rich saltiness that comes from bacon and the powerful punch of onions. By sautéing some bacon bits and mixing in chopped onion so you get that beautiful Maillard reaction, you'll produce a savory element that will pair beautifully with the sweetness of the corn, giving you a side dish that satisfies all of your sweet and salty cravings — and packs a punch of color into your meal to boot.

You've got lots of choices when it comes to the type of bacon to use for this trick, and each will bring its own nuance to corn. Bacon typically has an inherently smoky flavor, but that flavor can be impacted by the type of wood used to smoke it. Popular options are hickory, pecan, cherry, and apple wood, but you've also got additional flavor options that will bring more depth to canned corn, like bacon that has been infused with maple or seasoned with peppercorns. And of course, there's all that lovely fat that, once rendered, adds a richness to corn that you won't get from simply adding some butter to it.  

Onions offer their own sweetness that beautifully complements the rich smoky flavor of the meat, but they also bring different notes that will change up the complexity of the flavor you build depending on the type of onion you pick. Opting for a shallot, for example, will give your onion component more of a garlicky nuance that will add immense depth to the already sweet and salty combo of bacon and corn. 

The aroma these three ingredients create when combined is undeniable. The sweet fragrance of corn brings to mind summer barbecues, onion is a classic aromatic, and the smell of bacon cooking can wake the deepest sleepers and bring them to the breakfast table. Combine the three and you've got a winning combination on your hands.