Smoked Corn Sauce

Guests and others have been asking about the process for making smoked corn sauce, so I figured I would share.  Currently we are getting some incredibly fresh and sweet local corn which in part plays a crucial role in the vibrancy of our sauce.  Besides the freshness, the process for making the smoked corn sauce is simple.  We cut the corn off the cob and sweat it in whole butter.  We take the cobs and smoke them for an hour to infuse with hickory flavor.  After the cobs are smoked we seal them in a bag with half and half overnight.  The next day we cook the half and half and corn cobs for an hour in the bag at 160 degrees.  After cooking the base, we cool it quickly in an ice bath.  Once the base is chilled we strain it over the corn kernels and cook the two parts together.  The combined corn is then pureed, enriched with butter, strained and chilled.  We use the smoked corn sauce in several dishes: poured over a fricassee of chanterelle mushrooms and chorizo, as a light froth over slow cooked fish, thickened as a pudding with maple vinegar and slow cooked rabbit.