15. Grilled Corn

Date Cooked: September 7th, 2008
Page: 157
Rating: A-

Grilled corn, where should I begin? I’ve already prepared corn on the grill several times this summer but I will admit I am new to grilling corn. My brother-in-law mentioned how much he enjoyed it that way, so I figured why not give it a go. I’ll run through the various learning highlights.

The first attempt prior to this project was just throwing the whole cob on the grill with husk and silk intact. This was fun as the husk blackened and fine wisps of ash and charred silk wafted all around covering everything in close proximity to the grill. It was even more fun when the corn was done and I had to peel these crumbling charred messes. In this paragraph you can interchangeably use ‘fun’ and ‘horrible’. The corn though was amazing!

The next attempt came at the instruction of the book where all but the inner layer of husk was removed and the silk was trimmed. This had a better roasted flavor to the corn, especially where the corn kernels were exposed to the grill and developed as nice deep brown color. I really liked the darkened kernels.

So for this latest attempt I went with the same instructions as the book but cooked the corn a little longer. Amazing! I love the blackened kernels. They practically burst with flavor (and a few actually did burst) as the sweet flavor concentrated as the water evaporated. I really wish corn wasn’t going out of season.

The corn was served with the lime-cilantro butter and it was good. The sweet corn paired nicely with the butter. I am a fan of grilled corn and I can’t imagine going back to boiled corn on the cob. Of course I have to simply because there is a recipe for boiled corn on the cob. Maybe I’ll boil it, snap some photos and then toss it on the grill!

I have seen several mentions lately of soaking the corn in water before grilling it. I assume this probably cuts down on the charring of the husk before it is completely cooked. I may try this in the future since husking charred corn is not a character building task. It’s just plain horrible.

Rating: This dish gets an A- since it is now my benchmark for all future corn recipes. I love grilled corn.