Jack Stack (Kansas City) Creamy Corn

[spwhitt]

Anyone have the recipe for the Creamy corn at Jack Stack's BBQ in KC?

We ate there some time ago, recipe was on the wall and everything...Guess I should have writen it down.

 

[shannon in KS]

hmmm, what was the consistency? Was it creamy, like it had cream or white sauce? Or was the sauce translucent?

 

[Michael in FtW]

Yep - if the recipe was written down on the wall you should have copied it ... it's not on the internet and they are not willing to share it.

According to their website ... the dish you are wanting to replicate is probably their Cheesy Corn Bake - "Our extraordinary Cheesy Corn Bake is a silky-smooth secret blend of four gourmet cheeses, premium quality whole kernel corn, and slivers of hickory roasted ham that serves up thick, bubbly and super-cheesy."

The big problem with things like this is that few, if any, DC members (if that many) may have any idea of what you are talking about. Honestly - could you begin to describe how to replicate the "gravy" served at the Big River Cattle Company if you had never eaten there?

You can get some ideas from their description of the dish ... and since you actually tasted it you are probably in a better position to judge what may be in it than those of us who are just "salivating" at the thought of it.

 

[Aria]

Michael in FtW...you are "right on" thanks

 

[JohnL]

Wow Mike that description of the dish sounds great!
Spwhitt, keep us informed if you come up with the recipe, I'd love to try it.

 

[Michael in FtW]

This is so much fun .... trying to deconstruct a dish I've never tasted just from a menu description.

The other night I Googled on "Jack Stack BBQ" and only got their menu description ... so this afternoon I got to thinking a little more about it and tried Googling on "Cheesy Corn Bake recipe" and guess what I found? I found two sites that claim to have the authentic recipe ... one has a missing step, and neither actually matches with the description of the dish on Jack Stack's menu because they only use two cheeses, not four gourmet cheeses. But, here is one recipe and here is the other.

Thinking back to what shannon asked about it using a white sauce as a foundation, and thinking about really creamy 4-cheese "mac-n-cheese" recipes - and looking at a few of those .... and looking at these authentic Jack Stack recipes ... it appears:

1.) First, over low to med-low heat, you make a roux of 2 Tablespoons butter, 4 teaspoons flour and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
2.) Add 3/4 cup milk and, over med-low to med heat, cook until thickened and you have a white sauce
3.) Add the cheeses, whisk and cook until they are melted and you have a cheese sauce
4.) Stir in the corn and ham
5.) Pour into a greased 2-qt casserole dish
6.) Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes.

The biggest problems are - what do they consider to be gourmet cheese in Kansas City (hey, this is a BBQ joint in KC - not a 4-Star restaurant in NYC) so I'm not expecting the cheeses to be too exotic, how thick is the sauce, and what does it taste like?

I think if I was going to try this, without having tasted the original, I would be inclined to start with something like this:

2 Tablespoons butter or bacon drippings
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic mashed into a paste or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 - 1 cup milk (at room temp)
1/2 cup grated Sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Fontina or Provolone cheese
1/2 cup grated Emmenthal, Gruyère or similar Swiss-type cheese, or Parmesan, Romano or Asiago
3 oz package Cream Cheese, cubed small
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen whole kernal corn, thawed - or fresh cut from the cob if in season and really fresh
3-4 ounces hickory smoked ham, small dice or grated and chopped

Anyway - that's about as far as I can stretch my intuitive powers on this one.