Cooking Corn-on- the-Cob on the Grill

How many times have you been to a fair and ordered roasted corn, wishing you could do this at home? Well you can cook corn on the cob on your own grill. It’s not as difficult as you may think. There are two methods for doing this – with the husk still on (the most common method) and without the husk. Cooking the ears of corn on a charcoal grill or a gas grill with wood chips gives the corn a smoky flavor that makes it so-o-o unbelievably delicious.

Grilling the Corn with the Husks On

1. Pull back the husks without removing them all the way.
2. Remove corn silk and rinse the corn well.
3. Replace the husks back over the corn and soak them in water for at least 1 hour. This will keep them from catching fire on the grill.
4. Place them on the grill surface and allow them to smoke for about 30 minutes. Make sure that they are not over a direct flame or too close to the hottest part of the charcoals, but off to the side or near the fringes of the heat.
5. Turn the cobs from time to time, to heat all surfaces and to keep any one side from getting too much heat.
6. If you’re cooking several ears of corn, move them around on the grill surface, esp. with charcoal grills which may have hot spots.

Grilling the Corn with the Husks Removed

1. Remove the husks and the corn silk and rinse the corn.
2. Cut off small pieces from the ends to provide a place to insert the corn pokers if you plan to use them.
3. Place the ears of corn into a pan of water and par boil them for15 minutes.
4. Create a foil boat using heavy duty aluminum foil with the sides folded up and crimped at the corners. One boat can hold 2 to 4 ears of corn.
5. Melt some butter or margarine in the boat(s) over the grill heat.
6. Charcoal and wood chips will impart their a smoky flavor to the corn.
7. Place the parboiled corn into the butter in the foil boats and allow them to cook for about 20 minutes.
8. Make sure the corn is not too close to the flames on a gas grill or over the hottest part of the charcoal fire. Turn each ear of corn a few times to keep get all sides exposed to heat and slathered with butter.

Note: I recommend heavy duty or extra heavy duty foil. I have tried regular foil but it doesn't hold up well to the grilling process. .

Seasoning

Most everyone loves butter and salt on their corn, but there are other ways to season your corn that are equally delicious, such as:

• cayenne pepper
• chili powder
• ground black pepper
• pepper flakes
• lime
• plain yogurt
• mayo
• sour cream
• grated parmesan cheese, in the can that you shake onto the corn
• finely minced garlic or garlic powder
• grated onion
• cilantro

Try any of these in any combination you like. Or better yet, create your own favorite seasoning blend.