An Easy Way To Make Grilled Corn On The Cob
Fresh off the grill, summertime sweet corn on the cob needs nothing. And mark your calendar: Sweet corn is at its sweetest best from July to September. While I love to top my grilled corn on the cob with plain butter and salt, making a few special toppings to offer alongside butter is a fun way to serve up this grilled corn recipe at your next barbecue!
Serve it as a side dish alongside all the summer classics, like macaroni salad, grilled steak, hot dogs, burgers and of course, fresh berry cobbler to finish. And if you have grilled corn leftover, make elote next!
How To Grill Corn On The Cob
Grilling corn is the easiest method of all. There's almost zero prep. Just fire up the grill, shuck your corn, and place it over the heat.
- Start your grill. Get some coals going or turn a gas grill to medium heat.
- Shuck the corn. Remove the husks and corn silks completely. You can leave a little bit of the stalk at the base of the corn–this gives you a convenient handle to use while grilling and eating the corn.
- Place corn on the grill. Use tongs to lay your shucked corn on the grill.
- Grill! Cover for about 15-20 minutes, turning the corn every five minutes. Long grilling tongs make this easy to do.
- Done! The corn is done when the kernels are tender, plump and juicy.
- Cool! Let the corn cool a bit and then let everyone feast!
Four Toppings Worthy Of The Best Grilled Corn On The Cob
This is less a recipe for grilling corn on the cob, and more of a way to discuss my favorite grilled corn toppings. I love to serve grilled corn with sweet and savory toppings. Here’s a few of our greatest hits, with detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post:
- Maple Bourbon Butter
- Chipotle Mayo with Parmesan Cheese
- Spicy Corn with Cotija Cheese
- Blue Cheese Butter with Chives
Tips For Grilling Corn On The Cob
- With a method this simple (no boiling, no tin foil, no nothing) the cornerstone of this recipe is the quality of the corn itself. Buying the very best, freshest corn you can when the season is at its peak (July through September in the U.S.) is the most important thing you can do to lock in the best grilled corn.
- You do not need to boil corn before grilling: Many grilled corn recipes call for blanching the corn in water (or a mixture of milk and water) before grilling, but as long as you’ve got ripe, sweet peak-season corn it’s not necessary at all. Your corn should be sweet and tender and perfect as-is.
- How long do you grill corn? It’ll take about 15 minutes to cook the corn. Keep an eye on it, which is pretty easy to do, since you’ll be turning it every few minutes to help the whole cob cook evenly. Pull it off the heat when the kernels are tender.
- What’s the deal with making grilled corn in foil? Grilling corn directly over the heat of your grill is such a no-brainer, and it results in a delicious char that only an open flame can create! No need to mess around with tin foil.
How To Store Grilled Corn
Corn on the cob is best enjoyed fresh off the grill, as soon as it’s cool enough to eat! But, it also makes great leftovers to add to salads and even pasta. To store leftover grilled corn, it’s a good idea to cut the kernels off the cob. Then you can easily store them in the fridge for a maximum of 4 days, or you can even freeze the kernels in an airtight container for up to a few months.
If you store your leftover corn on the cob whole (instead of cutting the kernels off) you can reheat it a few ways. In a microwave, wrap in a damp paper towel, warm it for about a minute at a time until it’s warmed to your liking. You can warm it in the oven set to 350°F until it’s warmed through, about ten minutes. You can even reheat it on the grill, if you’re firing it up again!
More Easy Corn Recipes From The Modern Proper
Have A Corntastic Day!
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