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Corn Timbales with Bacon
1 cup grated corn 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon parsley, minced 1 teaspoon onion juice 1 soda cracker rolled fine 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 eggs, beaten light 6 slices bacon Mix together, pour into small greased molds. Stand molds in pan filled 1 in. high with hot water and bake until firm in moderate oven. Remove from molds and garnish with crisp bacon to serve. Serves 6.
A plain baked custard bound with corn, cooked gently in a water bath. The whole dish hinges on not letting the water get above a bare simmer or the eggs will curdle and weep.
- Grated cornThis means fresh kernels split with a knife and scraped from the cob, pulp and milk together — about 2 to 3 ears for a cup. Canned cream-style corn is the closest substitute; drained whole-kernel corn will not give the same body.
- Soda crackerOne saltine, crushed fine. It is there to absorb liquid and steady the custard, not for flavor; a rounded tablespoon of dry breadcrumbs does the same work.
- Onion juiceGrate a piece of onion on a fine rasp and press the pulp in a sieve, or press a peeled half against a box grater. Grated onion itself will do, but it leaves visible flecks in a pale custard.
- Moderate ovenThe recipe gives no temperature; 'moderate' in period usage is roughly 350 to 375F, and the lower end suits a custard. Higher than that and the custard sets at the edges while the center is still liquid.
- MoldsTimbale molds were generally small, roughly straight-sided tins of about 4 to 6 oz. Ramekins, custard cups or a muffin tin all work. Grease well and the turnout is clean.
- TimingThe recipe gives none. At 350F in a 1-inch water bath, expect 25 to 35 minutes for 5-oz molds. They are done when a knife inserted off-center comes out clean and the center is just barely set — it firms further as it stands.
- UnmoldingLift the molds out of the water and let them rest 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge and invert. Straight from the oven they slump.
- BaconCook the six slices separately until crisp, drain, and lay them over or beside the turned-out timbales. Baking bacon in with the custard renders fat into it and greys the surface.
- YieldSix molds, described as six servings. As a modern main course this feeds three; as a side or a first course, six is right.
A timbale takes its name from the French timbale, a kettledrum — commonly explained as a reference to the drum-shaped mold, and later applied to anything baked in one. By the early twentieth century American cookery had taken up the form for savory custards of corn, spinach, chicken or cheese, since a mold and a pan of hot water gave a genteel-looking dish out of very little.