Remove the corn from the husk and slice the corn off the cob into a bowl. Flip the knife around and scrape down the cob with the back of the knife to release the “milk” and add it to the corn. Dice the green bell pepper and yellow onion roughly the same size as the corn kernels.

If you don’t have bacon grease but want to use it, start by cooking some bacon. Add 4 strips of diced bacon to a cold pan and turn to medium-low heat. Let it slowly cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crispy. This will take around 10-12 minutes, but starting in a cold pan and cooking over low heat renders the most fat from the bacon before it fully cooks.

Once the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Now add the diced onion and bell pepper to the same pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Sauté the vegetables in the bacon grease and season with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5-6 minutes until the onion starts to go translucent.

Now add 3 cups of corn with any corn “milk” and 3-4 cloves of minced garlic and again season with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes while stirring occasionally, getting a little char on the corn if possible.

Pour in ½ cup of low-sodium chicken stock, a bit more salt and pepper, ½ teaspoon ground cayenne, and the 1 teaspoon of sugar if using. Stir everything to evenly distribute the seasonings and sugar and turn the heat down to medium or medium-low. Allow the corn to finish cooking in the stock until tender. Depending on the corn, this could be another 10-15 minutes.

Finally, pour in ¼ cup heavy cream, if using, and fold all the ingredients together until it is fully distributed. Cook another 2-3 minutes so that cream is warmed and slightly thickens the dish. If you cooked bacon for the grease and wish to add it, mix half of it back in now.

Pour the maque choux into a serving bowl and top with the rest of the bacon if using it. Serve hot or warm.