Many years ago, while having a barbecue at the home of a friend, David and I were introduced to grilled corn on the cob. It was prepared by pulling back the husk, removing the silk, and rubbing the cob with butter. The husks were pulled back to cover the corn once again and the husk-covered corn was grilled directly on the heat.
It was delicious – but then again, buttery corn is a huge weakness for me.
Over the years, I’ve attempted make corn like this. And, I’ve failed every time. Laugh if you must, but I’m just NOT good at the whole “cook the corn in the husk” thing. I think I must get a little rough with the corn because I almost always end up pulling off too much of the husks. Leave it to corn to have me feeling inadequate. So, for now, I’ve given up trying.
My no-fail version soon became corn on the cob wrapped in foil. I would shuck the corn, remove the silk, lay it on a piece of foil, rub it with some butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll it up in the foil and grill it. It’s great too – and easy. I (pretty much) can’t screw it up.
However, recently we decided to try something new. How about grilling the corn, directly on the heat, no husk, no butter? Well, this is what we did and it was SO easy. But, easy or not, I really love how the corn tastes when it’s actually grilled directly on the heat, especially when the kernels get a bit charred (those are the best parts).
The results from the family: David was a big fan of it as well. The kids all liked the corn (most gave it a nice, big pat of butter), including Lil D who doesn’t usually eat it. He did say “this corn is more….tough….than usual, why?” I don’t think it was necessarily “tough” in a bad way, it just wan’t falling off the cob like when I boiled the corn on the stovetop or when it’s cooked in butter in the foil.
There really isn’t a “recipe” to give you for this grilled corn, but I can give you a bit of instruction, which I learned from the How To Cook Everything app.
First, heat your grill to a medium-high heat. Then, shuck the corn and remove all of the husk and silk threads.
I’d love to hear from you – how do you usually prepare corn on the cob?
Rachel says
I usually do mine the same new way you do–Shuck it, clean it and grill it as-is. I like the charred bits as well!
Funky Mama Bird says
We usually go the coat in butter and salt and wrap in foil route.
HOWEVER, I do know a trick that makes the roasting in the husk better. When you bring the corn home from the store, soak several sheets of paper towels in water and roll the corn, in its husk in the wet paper. Let is soak in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. It makes the husk more pliable for bending back and forth and keeps it from scorching. You just get hot buttered delicious corn.
ValerieF says
I usually just cook the corn in wax paper in the microwave for about a minute to a minute and a half per ear (2 minutes for 2, 3 minutes for 3, etcetera) and then place them straight on the heat. Sometimes I do leave some of the husk on, but since it's already partially cooked, that doesn't hurt it and it won't stay on the grill too long and become burnt or tough. That's my no fair way of making corn.
Yummmm, I LOVE corn!!!