How to Grill Corn on the Cob

How to Grill Corn on the Cob

•  Corn  on the cob is a sure sign of summer. The classic cob can compliment nearly all barbecued dishes. Save yourself a little time, and a lot of heat in the kitchen by throwing your cob on the grill with the rest of your dinner.

INGREDIENTS :
Grill
Tongs
Gas
Butter
Matches
Water
Large pot for soaking
Charcoal
Corn on the cob
Lighter fluid

PREPARATIONS :

• Purchase fresh corn on the cob. When you pick out your corn, be sure to partially peel back the husk and silk so that you can be sure you're getting a good ear.

• Remove as much of the corn silk as possible without removing the husk. Excess silk will burn while the corn is on the grill

• Soak the corn in water for 15 to 20 minutes. This will ensure that you can cook the corn for a long enough time without it burning.

• Take the corn out of the water, and shake off any excess. You want the corn wet, but not dripping.

• Place the corn on the grill, and close the lid. A gas grill should be on medium heat. If you're using a charcoal grill, make sure the coals are no longer flaming.

• Turn the corn every 10 minutes. Don't forget about this step or your corn will be charred on one side. You want the corn to be evenly cooked and browned. When the corn husk is charred and nearly black, your corn is done.

• Remove the corn from the grill. Carefully remove the husk and remaining corn silk. The corn will be very hot. Butter and salt it, and it's ready to eat.

HOW TO COOK CORN ON GRILL :

Roasted Corn Ingredients

Roasted Corn Ingredients

• The couple of lil gem squashes from my most recent CSA share had been staring at me from across the kitchen table for a few days. They looked so diminutive and adorable but at the same time a little intimidating. Between the tough skin and their perfectly round shape, I was not sure I could cut them up without losing blood or finger. However, the promise of discovering another vegetable was too tempting so I finally tackle them today.

• Roasting is my standard preparation for winter squashes. However, I really want to do something more special with these cute ones. They are the perfect size to be stuffed and already portioned for individual serving. Most stuffed squash recipes use a filling of sausages and/or grains. Not a big fan. When I saw this recipe from 101 Cookbooks, my eyes lit up. This is my adaptation of the recipe after playing around with the proportions to my liking.

 INGREDIENTS :
2 gem squashes, halved and seeds removed
1 large egg
50g heavy cream
50g almond milk
1/4 tsp anise seeds, crushed
a pinch of grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground pepper
a pinch of fine sea salt
2 tbsp of finely chopped scallions, reserve a bit for garnishing
1 cup of corn kernels (I used frozen because it is middle of winter)
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

PREPARATIONS :

Preheat oven to 425F. Place the squash halves on a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes until the flesh is tender.

While the squash halves are roasting, prepare custard. In a large measuring cup, mix together egg, cream, almond milk, anise seeds, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and scallions.

Remove squash halves from the oven and fill them with corn kernels until full. Reduce oven temperature to 375F.

Before you fill the squash halves with custard, you want to make sure that they are level so you can fill as much custard as possible without spilling. Here I set each squash half over a silicone muffin cup and readjust accordingly. They are more stable too! Fill the squash halves with custard until full.

 Bake for 15-20 minutes until custard is set and still a bit jiggly in the middle. Remove from oven and top with grated cheddar cheese.

Set oven to broil and broil the squash halves until cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Keep a very close eye on it. Depending on your oven, it takes approximately 3-4 minutes.

• Garnish with reserved scallions and serve immediately. One per person for sidedish, or two per person for a vegetarian main course. Me? I can eat all four in one sitting. 

HOW TO COOK CORN ON GRILL :

Roasting Ears Corn

Roasting Ears Corn

INGREDIENTS :

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Cilantro Lime Butter:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

• 1 lime, zested and juiced

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

PREPARATIONS :

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

• Coat each ear of corn in 2 tablespoons of the cilantro lime butter and wrap individually in foil. Roast until hot and steaming, about 25 minutes. Serve with extra butter on the side.

• Put the butter in a mixing bowl and, using a rubber spatula, mix in the cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, salt and cayenne. Use immediately or refrigerate.

HOW TO COOK CORN ON GRILL

Roasting Corn Bbq Pit

Roasting Corn Bbq Pit

• I'm more than a little obsessed when it comes to roasted or grilled corn. Anytime we go to a State Fair or Sons of Norway festival, I head straight for the corn booth, wolf down 3 ears and then regret that I don't have room for a cream puff. Well, not until after we play Whack-A-Mole.

• I've been working on the technique at home. Some folks like to peel back the husk, remove the silk, then tie the husk back up before roasting but I've never tried that. I just soak the whole ears in the sink or a clean bucket for 30 minutes, then roast for about 45 minutes over a moderate fire, turning occasionally. You can carefully peel back a bit of husk to see if the beautiful browning is starting to happen. When they are done, let them cool slightly, then peel the husk and remove the silk. I'd recommend gloves and you still have to be careful not to burn yourself.

• The ancho chili butter I made to go with the corn has one of the highest yumminess to difficulty ratios of anything I've made in awhile. It tastes great right after you make it, but if you can let it rest in the refrigerator overnight, the fruitiness of the pepper comes out. Just be careful when working with the chilis so you don't get any hot stuff in your eyes or elsewhere. Wear gloves, and work over a surface you can easily clean.

• Of course this technique of making compound butters can be applied to just about any herb, spice or flavoring you crave.

• (Chili pepper can also be spelled chile pepper, and anchos are sometimes mistakenly called pasilla; if you don't have ancho peppers, you could also use (real) pasillas, New Mexicos, mulatos, or California chilis.) 

Ancho Chili Butter
Yields 8 tablespoons, enough for 6 ears of corn
Vegetarian and gluten-free, not vegan

• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted (sweet cream) butter, softened to room temperature

• 2 dried ancho chilis

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• pinch of salt

1. Lightly toast the chilis using tongs over a flame, or in a dry skillet.

2. Allow to cool, then carefully (see discussion above), remove the stem and seeds.

3. If you have a mini food processor, put the chilis and the lemon juice in it and grind as fine as possible. You'll have to push it down a bunch of times. Then add the butter and salt and process until well mixed. The chilis will still be in small bits, not perfectly smooth, but they will soften in the butter so that is fine.

4. If you don't have a food processor, chop the chilis as fine as possible with a knife or use a mortar and pestle. Then mix in the butter and salt.

5. Refrigerate in a ramekin, or wrap into a log shape in parchment paper.

HOW TO COOK CORN ON GRILL

Roasting Potatoes Grill

Roasting Potatoes Grill

A cheap side dish to make that always gets the compliments.

INGREDIENTS :

potatoes (preferably red)
Med. to Lg. Onion (preferably Vidalia)
heavy duty tinfoil
butter
salt pepper
cheese
seasoning

PREPARATIONS :

• Pull out a piece of aluminum foil and spray with Pam. Dice up potatoes approx. 2 per person. Cut onion into medium chunks. Mix these items in a bowl add salt and pepper to taste, and you can use a garlic seasoning or a fresh minced garlic. Add other seasonings to add different flavor.

• After potatoes, onion, and seasoning mixed place on tinfoil curl up the sides to make a bowl. Now take another piece of tinfoil to place on top of bowl, spray with Pam. Add approximately 4-5 tbsp of butter. Sometimes I have added about a half bottle of beer.

• Once you have the foil packed closed up and ready to go place on grill at medium heat allow approximately 45 min. before cooking meat. When the potatoes are soft take foil pack off grill and place cheese in pack then place in oven to keep warm.

HOW TO COOK CORN ON GRILL