Corn

I ran into the first really good batch of corn of the year at, of all places, Dominick's. It's on sale for .08/ear and is as sweet as can be.

Dominick's Corn

Hi,

The first time I had grilled/roasted corn was at the Wisconsin State Fair when I was 11. With or without the butter dip, I have loved roasted corn ever since, in fact I always ask for the darkest piece.

From your picture, I see the silks still clinging and quite a bit of the husk. Did you soak the corn before grilling or just put it on as-is?

What I have done, with uneven success, before cooking to roll back the husk and remove the silks. I have also removed much of the husk leaving some leaves and hopefully letting the heat penetrate easier. I then soak the leaves to retard their burning.

Now I admit I like a darker roast piece of corn than your pictures reveal. However, I am guessing I am putting too much work into my corn and your method may be more direct and easy. So please do provide a how-to from your experience.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

The first time I had grilled/roasted corn was at the Wisconsin State Fair when I was 11. With or without the butter dip, I have loved roasted corn ever since, in fact I always ask for the darkest piece.

From your picture, I see the silks still clinging and quite a bit of the husk. Did you soak the corn before grilling or just put it on as-is?

What I have done, with uneven success, before cooking to roll back the husk and remove the silks. I have also removed much of the husk leaving some leaves and hopefully letting the heat penetrate easier. I then soak the leaves to retard their burning.

Now I admit I like a darker roast piece of corn than your pictures reveal. However, I am guessing I am putting too much work into my corn and your method may be more direct and easy. So please do provide a how-to from your experience.

Regards,

I soaked the corn for several hours before I cooked it. It is not usually necessary to soak it for so long, but I had a lot of people coming over for a BBQ and soaking the corn was one of those things that you can "do ahead". At first I decided to remove the silk, but it turned out to be a huge task for as much corn as I was going to cook and so hard to get the husks back in a perfect looking manner that I gave it up after the first couple of ears because I had lots of other stuff to attand to before my guests arrived. Also the "full husk and silk" is sort of a rustic look that many people enjoy. I have gone both ways silk wise in the past. If I had fewer corns to cook, I might have taken the time, but I never remove any of the husks before cooking because the slightly charred husks add flavor to the finished product. Usually when I remove the silk, I take a compound butter of some type (garlic or cilantro usually) and spread it on the ear of corn before replacing the husks. Give that a try sometime. I have on occasion removed the entire husk and cooked the corn that way, too. Cooking without the husk is a great way to get that dark roasted color you are talking about, but you do not get the taste of the husk infused into the corn. Both ways are good.

Like you, I would have liked the husks to be a little darker, but I underestimated the amount of time it would take to cook the corn when the Weber was "packed to the gills" with corn. It greatly increased the cooking time and all the water from the corn husks cooled down the fire somewhat. Basically, I had a full 22.5" Weber Kettle and I turned the corns every 10 - 15 minutes or so for at least 40 minutes. What you see is the result. Using fewer corns and thus not having to pack the grill so tightly normally yeilds darker husks (and shorter cooking times), but the corn was hot and delicious nonetheless.

A side benefit to leaving the silks on is that since they dry out while roasting, they are infinately more easy to remove after cooking than they are in the raw state. When you peel the husks back after cooking, the silks come with them rather than sticking to the corn kernals. Keep in mind that the folks at the Wisconsin state fair don't take the time to de-silk the corn, either.

Cathy, Here's a recipe I like.

Grilled Corn With Spicy Butters

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : *On-The-Grill Mexican
Side Dishes Vegetables


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
6 ears fresh corn/husks
-----butters-----
-----chile lime spread-----
1/2 cup margarine or butter -- softened
1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel
3 tablespoons lime juice
red chiles -- ground, to taste
-----pesto butter-----
1/2 cup margarine or butter -- softened
1 cup fresh basil leaves -- loose-pack
1 tablespoon scallion -- chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
-----horseradish butter-----
1/2 cup margarine or butter -- softened
prepared red horseradish -- *
1/4 teaspoon salt

* Use 2 to 3 tablespoonfuls of the red horseradish or to taste.

Remove the large outer husks from the corn turning back the inner husks,
remove the silks. Spread each ear with about 2 tbs of the butter mixture of
your choice.

Pull the inner husks back over the corn and butter and secure with fine wire
so that the husks are tight against the ear.

Grill the corn 3 inches from medium coals, turning frequently, until done,
about 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve with the remaining butter of your choice.

FLAVORED BUTTERS: Combine all ingredients for each butter in a work bowl of
a food processor or blender and process until very smooth. Scrape into a
small dish and serve with the corn.

OVEN ROASTED CORN: Heat the oven to 475F. Prepare the corn as above, but
place in an ungreased jelly roll pan 15 1/2 X 10 1/2 X 1-inch. Turn
frequently until done, about 30 to 35 minutes.






- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 3 Calories; trace Fat (1.8% calories
from fat); trace Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg
Cholesterol; 178mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit.