Here is Northern California I saw my first bit of corn at the Farmer’s Market last weekend. The big harvest can’t be too far behind. My husband picked up some at the grocery store but it’s not the same thing to us. I’m ready for the real thing.
I’ve always been a cook who takes the husks off and puts the ears in boiling water. Forty-some years, that’s the way I’ve always done it. But now, I’ve been hearing about different ways of fixing the corn. I’ve decided I’d like to experiment. So here’s what we did with the corn my husband bought: we grilled it!
Since this is our first time, I’m not sure we did it the “right” way. Here’s what we tried. First, we carefully pulled back the husks and took off all the silks. Then we put the husks back on and soaked the ears in water. After about fifteen minutes we put them on the grill at medium heat.
At first I thought the wet ears of corn were going to put out the fire but they didn’t. (We were using a charcoal grill.) The corn gradually began to heat up and started roasting. Using tongs we turned the ears of corn over several times so they cooked on all sides. Some of the husks started to burn on the edges but we kept turning them. It took about twenty minutes for our corn to cook.
We let them cool down for just a few minutes and then we dug in. We pulled back the husks and put on the butter. Well, not that much butter as you see in the photo above. My husband used a little salt but I didn’t think it needed it.
I thought the taste of grilled corn was very different. It was crisp and crunchy. My mouth was filled with a multitude of tastes. It was almost like popcorn but at the same time it was moist and creamy. My mouth loved every bite.
That was our first experiment. I would like to try something different next time. I’d like to try the corn on the grill without the husks. What do you think? What’s your method of cooking corn-on-the-cob? What other ways would you suggest? Do you put something else besides butter on your corn?
Talking about food is a regular feature on my blog and others as well. Visit Beth Fish Reads for other bloggers who are participating in Weekend Cooking.
I’m with you — I always just boil the corn for the littlest amount of time possible. Now I’m thinking of trying to grill it. Hummmmm.
My first husband came from western Michigan and my mother-in-law taught me how to cook corn.
1. Put a pot of water on the stove to boil.
2. Go out and pick the corn.
3. Husk the corn. The water is now boiling.
4. Drop the corn in the water.
5. As soon as the water boils again, TURN IT OFF.
6. Eat the corn.
I still do this although I have no rows of home-grown corn to pick. It never fails.
I husk, clean off silk, rinse in cold water and then wrap in a damp paper towel and micrwave for 4 minutes ( for 2 ears). Perfection every time. I like the way you described how it tasted. Sounds like it’s definitely worth the time. Have a great weekend!
Carl grills our corn – I’m not sure if he soaks it or just runs water over the corn after he’s removed the silk. We love it off of the grill!
I love it grilled…or boiled…but I have to agree with kaye. I just discovered microwaving it is that is the BEST!. wrap the cleaned corn in a few pretty damp paper towels and nuke a couple of minutes..I think I did three…and it is perfection.
I love grilled corn on the cob. We generally take off the husks and wrap them in tin foil, with some butter and seasonings inside. As others have said, microwaving it is also good – and very easy! (We typically do that moreso than grilling.)
Sounds delicious. I must give this a try.
We had our first produce stand corn on the cob last weekend. Now I’m going to have to make a corn run again.
l also do the microwave thing – but I wrap each ear in saran and do 2 minutes an ear.
I like it best cooked on the grill – but I don’t think it is soaked first like you did. It is great camping to stick the corn in their husks on the outer coals. I have never put anything on it other than butter and salt.
I’ve boiled it and grilled it and baked it. Love the grill best. I’ve only done it in the husks like you did, but I didn’t soak them first. I’ll have to try that next time.
I wouldn’t wrap it in Saran wrap as suggested. Too many chemicals get in the corn. Mostly I just dip it in a pail of water that I have by my charcoal grill and throw it on the grill and put the cover down for about fifteen or twenty minutes.
oh…add parmeshan cheese and a little salt…cheese spelling is wrong, sorry.
Well, this was an informative Weekend of Cooking for me. I learned how to grill pizza from Beth Fish – and now how to grill corn. Two favorites prepared in an entirely new way.
We’ve done a lot of experimenting with corn-on-the-cob and have settled on microwaving. I trim back a layer or two of the husk, cut the silk on top, and pop it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes per ear. After cooling a little, it’s very easy to peel back the husk/remaining silk… plus you have something to hold on to – whether you eat it on the cob or cut off the corn.
That was an interesting post and I read all the comments too! I was taught to cook it like Nancy says in her comment and we love it that way. But grilled (from your description) sounds amazing. We don’t have a grill with us on this trip (bet you can guess why). I might try the microwave method since I kinda hate to boil water in this teeny space. Great post.
I love Corn! It has been here for a few weeks. And one of my Mexican friends Cooks hers Puts MAYO (ick) and Parmasian Cheese on it with some chili powder. I think the mayo is discusting but I put butter on mine with the rest and it was pretty good.
I just might have to do this when we’re camping this weekend. I love corn-on-the-cob!!
I’ve always cooked it the way nancy does – pop it in boiling water, turn OFF the flame, and let it sit for 3 minutes or so. I’m very curious about grilling, since you say the flavor is so different. I’ll let you know if we try it this weekend.