How Everyone Should Cook Corn on the Cob

5/29/2012

I've heard a million methods for making corn on the cob and tried most of them. This method of grilling it will guarantee you fresh, crispy, flavorful, buttery kernels, served up hot and lightly salted every time.

You want to use FRESH corn, IN THE HUSK. It makes a difference. The husk is nature's packaging. It preserves freshness, flavor, and vitamins. Don't be lazy and get the pre-husked kind. It's less flavorful.

Ingredients:

1 ear of corn for each person, in the husk

Country Crock - (Yes, you read that right, not butter in this instance. This is one of the two times I deviate from butter. The other is when I make grilled cheese. I use Country Crock here because the oils in it enhance the cooking method.)

salt - (Grey sea salt or Fleur de Sel is preferred, but you can use regular salt if that's all you have; I just like coarse salt for cooking. If you use a coarse salt, it's more potent and you'll need less of it.)

Clockwise from left: Corn all cozy in their husks; husked corn ready to go on its own piece of foil; slathering it up with Country Crock

Instructions:

1. Husk your corn. and snap off the bottom end.
2. Tear off a piece of aluminum foil about a foot long for each ear of corn.
3. Lay each husked corn cob on its own piece of foil.
4. Spread Country Crock all over the corn cob. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just get some on all sides.
5. Salt your corn a little on the top. No need to roll it around. You don't want to over salt it.
6. Roll up each ear in the foil and seal the ends.
7. Place each ear on a hot grill. Roll the corn to the other side after about 10 minutes of cooking.
8. After about 20 minutes total your corn is done. (That means 10 minutes after you roll it to the other side.) It will be red hot, so use grilling mitts or tongs to remove it. When you unwrap your corn, be careful because the stem released can burn you.
9. Serve. This corn is already buttered and salted, so there's no need to do that again. The best part is that the butter and salt cooked into the corn so there's not a part that's missing flavor.

Clockwise from left: Salting the "buttered" corn; corn all wrapped in foil on the grill; all done - see how the kernels start to get some color even though they're wrapped up in foil.

Special Notes:

Buy your corn the day you plan to use it, if you can. The longer corn lays around, the less flavorful it is because the sugar turns to starch as it ages.

Please don't boil your corn. You're boiling all of the nutrients and flavor right out of it.

If corn on the cob isn't in season, you can buy the frozen ears of corn and thaw them in advance and try this method. (I know, you can't get frozen corn in the husk, but if you have no choice, you gotta do what you gotta do.) Or you can use frozen corn kernels, wrap them in foil packs with some Country Crock and salt and grill them that way.

4 Comments

The Recipes:

I believe in butter. Real butter. I don't believe in low-fat, or no-fat, so don't expect to find "light" versions of my recipes here.

Everything I post is delicious, and self-invented.

If I call something vegetarian, and it's not, well, what can I say. I'm not vegan, I'm not vegetarian, and don't know the rules. I eat what I like, and like what I eat. I believe in meat.

Enjoy!

Debbie Norz

5/29/2012 12:29:37 am

OK, you know I had to reply, we agreed on a few points....DO NOT BOIL YOUR CORN. DO NOT HUSK UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO EAT. (Great points)
For those who do not have a grill...Steam your corn, Want your corn pre-peppered add a spicy pepper to the water!
BUT ALWAYS USE BUTTER! (Says the Dairy Princess Coordinater for Somerset County!)

~The Lady in Red~

5/29/2012 01:19:42 am

Steaming is a great suggestion, Debbie, if you don't have a grill! And there are many ways you can flavor your corn - you are right! If you want to add more flavor to your corn while it's on the grill, you can also place some seasonings in the foil packet. Some combinations to try: (not at the same time) - fresh cilantro & lime slices with a squeeze of lime juice inside), hot pepper flakes, sliced jalepenos....

And I DO always use butter. LOL (99.9% of the time!) I'll place a caviat on this recipe and say if you must maintain your allegiance to butter, then go ahead and spread some on, but add about a teaspoon of olive oil (brush it on the corn), too. There's food chemistry going on here. There's something about the oils combined with the milk solids in Country Crock, or adding olive oil to the cooking process if you must use butter, that just cooks the kernels perfectly. I'm sure there's a scientific explanation for it...but I'm not that technical!

Maria link

5/29/2012 12:26:55 pm

Love that little side box that cautions people to stay away from "fat free" or "low fat" products--I couldn't agree more!! Great that you are raising awareness....i just cringe when people try to eat low fat or make their baked goods low fat but end up using margarine or cool whip...chemicals just like you said

5/29/2012 09:06:36 pm

Thanks, Maria. I understand that many people struggle to lose weight. After I had my daughter, I did, too. But I never turned to diet or low fat products. Chemicals scare me. Sometimes we can't avoid them, but when we have a choice (we don't always do), I figure why put more into our bodies voluntarily?

I like to indulge as much as the next person. But I'd rather have real ice cream made from milk and sugar, or bake with real butter than to wonder why in 20 years I have cancer or another ailment that "experts" can't explain the cause of. I'll just eat less of it to head off the calories and focus on increasing the fresh fruits and veggies I eat. Why take chances?

One of my favorite quotes is by Suzanne Somers: "I say if you can pick it, pluck it, milk it, or shoot it you can eat it." She made this remark about her change her food consumption after she had a cancer scare. You can't pick, pluck, milk or shoot chemicals, right? :) (Well, now you can....but once upon a time it was all organic!)

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How Everyone Should Cook Corn on the Cob

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