You may just top the mixture with scallions and serve it warm. But there’s nothing like baking it until bubbly. At that stage, the flavors have blended beautifully and the dip is soft enough to be scooped with a tortilla chip.
It’s really best while hot. And it’s so good it doesn’t seem reasonable to presume that there will be leftovers unless you make too much for too few people. That was what happened in my case. In my excitement to make the dip, I prepped too much ingredients.
Short version of the long story, we had three times as much dip as we could eat in one sitting. What did we do with the two-thirds? Chilled in the fridge. As it turned out, two minutes in the microwave and it’s back to its straight-out-of-the-oven texture. But the flavors are deeper and richer. Clearly, the dip benefits from sitting in the fridge overnight.
Sausage and bacon: the flavor carriers
It starts with bacon. Fatty belly bacon. Chopped and heated until the some of the fat liquefies. Chopped sausage goes into the pan next. I chose Andouille because it is spicy and salty (just for the record, I am not a fan of sweet sausages).
When the sausage has also rendered fat, it is time to add chopped onion and bell peppers. Whether or not you need to add garlic and other herbs and spices depends largely on your choice of sausage. Andouille is so flavorful already that I did not go overboard with the vegetables.
About the corn…
The kernels from an ear of sweet corn went into the dip. I carefully sliced off the kernels so that each piece became three portions. Smaller pieces means faster cooking and better chance to soak up the flavors of the bacon and sausage.
So why didn’t I use cooked corn? As in canned corn? Well, because cooked corn can no longer soak up the cooking liquids in the pan. The kernels are cooked through already and all soaked up with water. So, you know, they will never be able to absorb the combination of bacon fat, sausage fat and vegetable juices. And that would be a pity because the dish loses nuance. So, I prefer raw corn.
Now, about the cheeses.
I used a combination of cream cheese and sharp cheddar. You will need that cream cheese to create volume so I don’t recommend making a substitution. But the cheddar can be something else. Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, mozzarella… Or you may combine two or more different cheeses.
You need cream
After stirring in the cheeses, the mixture will be thick. Too thick to be scooped with crackers or tortilla chips even after the cheeses have melted. You need something to lighten the mixture without diluting the flavors. Some cooks choose milk, others go for mayo and milk, while there are those who swear it should be cream. I choose sour cream.
Finally, the last stage. Baking.
You may use one bowl — a serving bowl — to bake all the dip in. That would be the logical choice if you’re serving the dip to a crowd (the yield is enough for 10 people). In our case, however, because I already knew there would be leftovers, it was more practical to use three six-inch baking dishes. One dish, one serving.
Cheese and corn dip with bacon and sausage
Ingredients
- 100 grams belly bacon julienned
- 125 grams chopped sausage preferably a salty and spicy variety such as Andouille
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ¾ cup chopped bell pepper
- 1 ½ cups sweet corn kernels fresh is ideal
- 250 grams cream cheese
- 250 grams mature cheddar shredded
- ½ cup sour cream use as much as one cup for a thinner dip
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F with the top and bottom heat on.
- Cook the bacon in a frying pan just until a little fat has been rendered.
- Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meats are sitting in a shallow pool of combined bacon and sausage fats.
- Add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring, for about a minute.
- Stir in the corn kernels and cook for another minute.
- Off the heat, pinch the cream cheese into pieces and drop into the pan.
- Add the shredded cheddar.
- Stir to combine (the cheeses will soften a little from the residual heat).
- Stir in the sour cream.
- Taste, and add salt and pepper, if needed (see notes).
- Scrape the thick mixture into an oven-proof serving bowl or smaller bowls and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or just until bubbly.
- Sprinkle with your choice of greens and serve with crackers or tortilla chips.
