An Easy, Quick Way To Make Grilled Corn on the Cob, With Four Delicious Toppings
It’s not really summer until we’re in the backyard, icy cold beer in hand, cooking corn on the grill! Standing there in the warm sun, surrounded by friends or family, a nice breeze blowing, flipping burgers and grilling corn in the husk—what could be easier or more peak-summer?! Not a thing. It’s a feeling as sweet as midsummer sweet corn itself! We’ll walk you through just how easy it is to make the best grilled corn ever, and a few of our favorite quick toppings to serve it with (ahem, blue cheese butter, anyone?).
Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Making Grilled Sweet Corn
In which we answer all of your burning questions (ha) about how to make grilled sweet corn:
Are you supposed to boil corn before grilling? Short answer: no. Long answer? 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—pretty easy to do, since you’ll be turning it every few minutes to help the whole cob cook evenly. Peek under the husk to check for doneness, and pull it off the heat when the kernels are tender.
What’s the deal with making grilled corn in foil? Why you would remove nature’s perfect protective coating and replace it with foil is deeply confusing to us! Grilling corn in the husk is such a no-brainer, and it’s easy, too! No need to mess around with tin foil.
How to Cook Corn on the Grill With the Husk On
Obviously, grilling corn in the husk is the easiest method of all—there's literally zero prep. Just fire up the grill and get your corn over the coals. What could possibly be better? The corn will sort of steam inside the husk, which helps to keep it tender and bursting with fresh corn goodness. With a method this simple—no boiling, no tin foil, no nothing—you might already be guessing that the make or break thing in this recipe is the quality of the corn itself, and you'd be right. Buying the very best, freshest corn you can when the season is at its peak—late May through September in the U.S.—is the most important thing you can do to lock in sure-fire grilled corn success. Once you’ve done that, you can pretty much rest assured that you’re in for a delicious dinner. Here’s how to grill corn on the cob:
Get some coals going or turn a gas grill to medium heat.
Use tongs to lay your corn (still in its husks) on the grill.
Grill! Covered for about 15-20 minutes, turning the corn every five minutes.
Done! The corn is done when the kernels are tender 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
Fresh off the grill summertime sweet corn needs nothing—it’s a pure, nostalgic pleasure. But, then again, if you can make a great thing even greater, well, we’re very into that! Plus, making one or two (or even all four) of these toppings is a really fun way to serve grilled corn at a big barbecue and make it feel like a really memorable side dish. Guests can pick their favorites, or try all of them as they chomp their way through your perfectly grilled corn. We love to serve grilled corn with these four toppings, all of which are basically exactly as indulgent and over-the-top awesome as they sound:
Maple Bourbon Butter.
Chipotle Mayo with Parmesan Cheese.
Spicy Corn with Cotija Cheese.
Blue Cheese Butter with Chives.
More Easy Corn Recipes
Tools You’ll Need:
Grill
Not to Be Corny but We Really Do Love This Grilled Corn Recipe
And we hope you do too! If you make this basic grilled corn on the cob recipe, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
