Friday, June 15, 2012

How do you grill your corn?


My recent column on grilling brought an email from Barb Scott, who wanted to share her family's method for grilling corn. Try it and let me know what you think.

With all the rain and warmth we're having, I'm hoping this will be a stellar year for local corn. Have a great corn trick? Pass it on and I'll share.

OK, here's Barb:

"My father-in-law's method for making corn on the grill does not involve soaking, and turns out the best! There is plenty of moisture in fresh corn, so soaking is not necessary. Sometimes the kernels get caramelized, making the corn even sweeter. More people have complimented corn made this way.

Walt's Grilled Corn

1. Make sure the corn is still totally in the husk -- do not take any of it off, do not trim the bottom. Do not strip the husk back. Do not trim ANYTHING and make sure the husk is intact. (Avoid any corn in the store that has been stripped back. If the corn is stripped, ask the produce manager to get some that are unstripped from the back room.)

2. Start the grill fire, direct method. On a charcoal grill, light the coals and once the coals are halfway gray or so, put the corn on the grill. (This is a great method to make sure of the grill before it is really ready for burgers, steaks, etc.) Have a paper bag handy.

3. Roast the corn on an uncovered grill, turning once in a while to ensure uniform cooking on all sides, until you start to see the outlines of the kernels on the husk. (They will char that way.)

4. Once the husks are charred on all sides, take off the grill and immediately put into a paper grocery bag. The corn will continue to steam, and will stay hot while the rest of the meal is being grilled.

5. Strip the husks and silks off just before eating and you'll have hot, delicious steamed corn with your main course. (Be careful, the corn will be hot. You can strip the husk and silks inside the bag or in a seperate one to control mess.)

Photo: What'scookinginamerica.net.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Soak in cool water for 20 minutes or so. Drain. Grill over hot coals 8 minutes per side. Put on a platter and cover with foil and a kitchen towel for about 15 minutes. Remove husks and silk, drizzle with a lot of butter, lightly salt, enjoy.

Creed Moore said...

I interrogate it aggressively until I get some kernels of truth.

[Man, the reading tests to post a comment is getting harder and harder. Now I have to figure out what's in the underexposed unfocused picture too?]

Anonymous said...

Creed: Yo, yo, yo, yo. I know, right? Word to your Mother!

John said...

First off, I NEVER open the husk before serving.

I just soak mine untouched for about 30 mins and then grill over direct heat covered, five mins per side, strip and serve.

When I run the smoker, I soak it for about 1 hour and then smoke on the top rack of my smoker at 225 for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

Tip, always cook more than you need and just use a sharp knife to strip the kernals off the extra cobs, spread on an aluminum cookie sheet and freeze in the coldest part of your freezer, then bag in ziplock bags to enjoy fresh tasting corn for months!

John said...

Creed, I agree on the comments verifications... I wonder if they comply with the American's with Disabilities Act?

Anonymous said...

Oh, THAT'S what he's talking about, the verification thing? I thought he meant either my post was misspelled or the picture I posted was blurry! I've been driving myself nuts trying to find where I misspelled a word. That's a cruel thing to do to a girl on a Friday afternoon.

Anonymous said...

That's OK, Kat. You're a good kid. We all dig you the most.

Creed Moore said...

"That's a cruel thing to do to a girl on a Friday afternoon."

Sorry Kathleen, Friday afternoons should be for relaxin'. I enjoy your blog and certainly wouldn't besmirch it. But seriously, I had to refresh the verification screen three times to get a picture of a number I could decipher. It's like the colorblind part of an eye test. Maybe have the kids who run the web site take another look at it.

As for corn, it seems like the varieties being bred nowadays have a lot more sugar than in the past. And this from a devout Silver Queen lover. Growing up we had to plant acres of the stuff to make sure we had enough after the raccoons got their fill.

Anonymous said...

No problem, Creed. Now that I understand the issue, I'll share it with our tech crew. In their defense, the robot posts have been running me ragged. I have to sign in on weekends just to kill them off. They grow increasingly clever.