Cajun Maque Choux

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Maque choux (pronounced similar to "mack-chew") is a Cajun dish similar to succotash, with influences from both Creole and American Indian cooking.

​The principal ingredient is corn, accompanied by onion & garlic, bell pepper, celery and sometimes tomatoes.  We saute the vegetables in bacon drippings the old way, although modern renderings of maque choux often use vegetable oil or butter instead.

​INGREDIENTS
​3 slices of bacon
1 20-ounce package of frozen corn, or the kernels sliced from 10 ears of fresh corn
1 cup onion
​1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
​1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
​1/4 teaspoon sugar
​1 teaspoon dried parsley
​1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon mild cayenne pepper sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth

​DIRECTIONS

​Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large saucepan or skillet, turning until crisp on both sides. Drain on paper towels, let cool, crumble pieces and set aside. Re-heat the drippings, and add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, parsley, and thyme. Stir to coat ingredients, and cook 4-6 minutes until wilted. Add the corn, stir, and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper sauce and chicken broth, bring to a rapid boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer about 15 minutes until the broth is mostly evaporated.  Stir in crumbled bacon, let sit covered for another minute or two, and serve hot.
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