It’s the South. It’s summer. It’s time for corn. Corn on the Grill. Corn in the Husk. Corn slathered with butter, herbs, spices, maybe even mayonnaise. Corn so sweet and good, it may simply stand alone.
A fresh ear of corn is good all by itself, so this post is not about how to flavor it. It’s about technique. There is no recipe, just a reminder to myself that grilling corn with just a bit of the husk served us well.
Making corn on the cob is so easy, but surprisingly, I have had bad corn. Corn boiled past edible, mushy and tasteless.
There is no one way to do it right, but my preference most of the time is simply to throw it on the grill with a little butter, salt lime, and cayenne pepper. A good ear of corn that yields it’s own sweetness will stand up with just a touch of salt or butter or even nothing.
I accidentally discovered this nifty way to make corn after I had already shucked it, taking off all the husk and removing the silk. I had a change of heart, didn’t want to wrap the corn in foil so I took the husks and placed them around the corn and tied them with string. I never soaked the husks which is a way to stop them from burning. Once they were a bit charred, the corn was done. I love how it turned out.
Go here to find out how I made the steak taco.
- 4 ears corn
- 2 tablespoons butter or mayonnaise
- 1 lime
- salt
- pepper
- Remove the corn from the husk. Take out the corn hairs.
- Rub corn with butter or mayonnaise that has been mixed with lime juice.
- Place back into husk and grill.
- Season with salt and pepper
I love this! Makes me want some right this second!
I also have a technique I learned from some Mexicans when I was there visiting – you soak the corn a few hours in a salt bath – just some kosher salt stirred into the water, weigh the corn down so it can’t pop up to the surface, and soak it a couple of hours at least. I use an old plastic dishtub and it’s the perfect size.
Then rinse lightly and BBQ away on a medium-high heat, turning fairly often. Lots of the husk burns away by the end, but the soaking does a few good things: plumps up the corn so it doesn’t dry out, allowing it to cook longer without being over-chewy, plus it comes out already salted-tasting, which is nice. Just ready to slather some butter and it’s good to go!
If only I could grill corn! This looks wonderful and a great technique. Love the sound of the lime, butter and cayenne combo!
I’ll have to wait a bit longer for fresh corn in the northeast, but you have my mouth watering.
I just wish I had an outdoor grill…I have to do mine indoors…..
Looks great!