Corn & Chicken Scallop

Corn and Chicken Scallop is an old, old recipe that I have had in my collection of cookery books since I was in my last year of  High School. Yes, I have been a foodie for quite a long time now and yes, I am getting old!

The recipe comes from a volume of the Better Homes & Gardens Cooking encycopedia entitled Favourite Ways with Chicken (Turkey, Duck and Game Birds).  This edition was published in 1973.

I was engaged to be married that year with a wedding date set for August of 1974 and so in preparation for married life I began collecting these cookery books.  BHG has aways had a great reputation for most things, and their recipes have always been more than reliable.

Although this book is more than 40 year old, it is still filled with valuable and trustworthy recipes.  Many of the recipes in the volumes of that old encyclopedia were destined to become firm family favourites through the years, and this was one of them!

We have always loved cream corn in our family.  I could actually eat it with a spoon from out of the tin. It used to be quite easy to find here in the UK.

In recent years howver,  I have noticed that it has become much more difficult to come across, and I have to say that  if you do find it, it is a lot more costly as well.  I bought mine a few months back from amazon, and it cost a bomb.

That source seems to have dried up now as well, so who knows where I will be able to get it from again. I know you can make creamed corn from scratch, but you need to have good corn to do that, and alas . . .  good corn does not exist here in the UK.

Most of what they sell as corn would qualify as cow corn back home.  Oh what I wouldn't do for a couple of ears of Peaches and Cream Corn, freshly picked and slathered with butter and salt. It has been over 20 years for me.  Sigh  . . .

Scallop, what is a scallop.  Where I come from a Scallop is a type of gratin baked dish, usually composed of a cream sauce and something else.  Scalloped Potatoes would be an example.  Very old fashioned and very delicious.

This is no different.  The cream sauce in this case is the creamed corn. You also need a quantity of saltine crackers. They don't exist here in the UK either, but I have been able to find a quite suitable substitute for them.  Italian Crackers.

 

This is the brand I usually buy, but they are also becoming somewhat difficult to find. I used to be able to get them in most of the grocery shops.  I blame the pandemic.  It has affected our lives in a great many ways.

Not being able to get things like creamed corn or salted crackers is the least of our worries I have to say!  I pray every day that my loved ones will stay healthy and safe.

This scallop is very similar to corn pudding which is a very popular Thankgiving dish in North America. It is made from the creamed corn of course, as well as some egg, milk, flour, green onions and seasoning, and then crumbled crackers.

The original recipe called for sprinkling all of the crackers on top. I have never done that. I have always mixed them in with the  cream corn and milk mixture. I prefer it that way, and so does my family.

 

You know all of my children are great cooks.  I have five children.  Three boys and two girls, and all of them love to cook and are great cooks.

My oldest daughter is developmentally challenged.  Despite her challenges she  was able to graduate from high school and hold down two jobs. She is a Special Olympics World Gold Medalist and she got married about 8 years ago now to Tim.

She loves to cook and is quite good at it.  She sometimes shares recipes with me, but mostly she uses mine.  One day she shared a recipe with me for a Hot Dog and Cream Corn Casserole.  It was really good.

 

Its quite similar to this one but with hotdogs.  Yes, I am a person who likes a hotdog every now and then.  Yes, I know what they are made of.  Do I care?  No, not really.  The heart wants what the heart wants. 

I crave a hot dog every now and then the same way I crave a burger or a pizza. It is the North American in me and I make no apologies for it.  What can I say.  Its just who I am. 

The original recipe used chicken drumsticks. I have to say that out of all the cuts of chicken you can buy, drumsticks are my least favourite. I do not like chicken drumsticks.

I don't like turkey drumsticks either, although as a child, with there being three of us it was always a battle for who would get the two drumsticks from our Thanksgiving turkey.   Now, as an adult, it would be no contest. Let the other two have them! 

I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs in their place, although you could certainly use bone in and skin on if you wanted to.  I do try to make things a bit healthier if I can, so boneless and skinless is what we go with.

I have never used chicken breasts for this recipe. I don't think they would lend themselves very well to the long cook time. I fear they would dry out too much.  Just my opinion.

I also think that the thighs have a lot more flavour going for them.  I love the dark meat of any bird, but I usually eat the white because, I am always trying to watch my cholesterol and fat intake. 

Why do the things that are so bad for you taste so good?  Its just not really fair is it!  I do use chicken thighs for this and they are excellent!  I would love to use the skin on ones.  Oh boy . . . crispy chicken skin . . .  but I am afraid chicken skin is a rare treat for me.

 

And to be honest with them being partially submerged in the corn pudding, skin would be a bit of a waste.  Half of it would not crisp up or brown at all. 

So boneless, skinless is the way to go.   I also added some additional crushed cracker crumbs to top everything off.  You can never go wrong with a crispy topping when it comes to casseroles.  No quantities are given for that.

It all depends on the size of your casserole dish.  A large one would take more.  So just eye ball it and crush what you think you need.  They are really nice on top of the chicken and the pudding. Very yum, yum, yum!!

You really only need to make a salad to go on the side of this.  My husband likes his potatoes however and a main meal would not be a main meal for him without some potatoes.

I buy these little frozen potato gratins when I get my grocery orders.  Each one is small enough just for one really, but large enough that I can have a tablespoon-full if I want and he can enjoy the rest on his own and there are no leftovers!

  

I did saute some courgettes/zucchini and carrots to go with them as well.  A dinner is not complete without having at least a salad or a vegetable or two on the side, and tis the season for courgettes! 

Altogether this is a very deliciously satisfying old fashioned meal.  A real family pleaser.  I really hope that you will be inspired to try it yourself and that you will come back and let me know how you got on!!

Corn & Chicken Scallop

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Yield: 3 or 4

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 10 Mincook time: 1 Hourtotal time: 1 H & 10 M

Corn and Chicken Scallop makes dinner easy. No browning of the chicken is necessary.  Season the chicken, place on the corn pudding and bake.  Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 (1 lb) ( 425g) can of creamed corn
• 1 cup (240ml) milk
• 1 large free range egg
• 1 TBS plain flour
• 6 green onions and tops, thinly sliced
• 6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• paprika to sprinkle
• 30 saltine crackers, crumbled, plus extra for sprinkling on top
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup (60g) butter
• additional green onions to sprinkle on top as a garnish

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter  a large shallow casserole dish.
2. Combine the creamed corn, flour, milk, egg, crackers and some seasoning in a bowl along with the chopped spring onions. Pour into the casserole dish.  Nestle the chicken thighs down into the mixture. Lightly season them and dust with some paprika.  Sprinkle additonal cracker crumbs over top and dot the whole thing with butter.
3. Bake for about 1 hour, until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through and tender. Sprinkle with additional chopped green onion and serve hot.

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We live in a bit of a throwaway society these days. People are all for modernising things and changing things. Not all change is good.  Like this recipe for instance. Sometimes it is the old and simple things which bring us the most pleasure of all.  There was a reason that people were much thinner in days gone by I think.  It was the simple things that kept them that way.

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