grilled corn on the cob?

[Nat]

This may sound silly, but I have never grilled corn and Vickie and I want some for supper tomorrow. My question is do you peel the shuck back and silk it before grilling or do you just grill and deal with the silk after it is grilled. Any help, or tips anyone? Thanks in advance, later, Nat

[GaryM]

Nat,

It's been a few years since I've done any, but we used to leave the shucks on. Soak in water for a while and throw it on the grill. Rotate it once in a while so it cooks evenly. When it's done, pull the shucks back, strip off the silk, and add butter and seasonings. We had a coffee can full of melted butter. We paint the butter on with a paintbrush. Yes, we used a new one! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I don't remember how long it took. We used a big wood fire that had mostly been reduced to coals. Never did it on a real grill. Maybe 7-8 minutes? Depends on the fire.

We used to do it as a summer picnic event at a sports car club I belonged to. After a few beers a little silk left on the corn didn't seem to be a problem.

[egon]

We have done corn in the same fashion Gary. Works well.

There are times we do it the same way only substitute the microwave for a wood fire. Beats the boiling water pot.

Only thing we missed on is the paint brush .

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[cowboyjg]

Ditto on the husks on method. I typically leave them in water for about 5-10 minutes and upon removing I wrap in foil before placing on the grill. cook for appx 20 - 30 min (depending on size of ear) taking from foil (if you wish) for the last 5 minutes.

YUMMY!!!! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Fred]

It's easier to get the corn to come out right if you leave the husks on, but lately I've been shucking it and letting the kernels rest directly on the grill. It gives them a nice golden look. I brush on melted butter with garlic, salt, pepper and a little Italian seasoning in it as I'm cooking.
This method takes longer than leaving the husks on, but I've never timed either one.

[rfawkes]

A neat trick we used at the American Legion Corn Roast was to take a coffee can fill it 1/2 full of water and put a stick or 2 of butter in it, and sit it on the grill. When you shuck the corn just dip the ear in the can and when you pull it out the butter sticks to the ear. It really works good.

[GaryM]

That's a good idea. Cuts down on the amount of butter wasted.

[Pat]

Shucks on is nice but if you keep a good watch grilling with shucks off you can partially caramelize the sugar in the corn which combined with the smoky flavor from the coals (OK EGON this is where I prefer REAL fire over gas) gives a superior flavor and a more sophisticated texture.

When roughing it (or just trying older methods) you can put a good coating of clay mud over the un-shucked ears and place the ears near or in the coals. The clay helps seal in the moisture in the shucks to help steam-cook the corn and prevent the shucks from drying and burning away. The clay DOES NOT FIRE INTO A BRICK COATING and can be removed pretty easily, often taking part of the outer layer of shuck with it. This produces nicely steam-cooked corn with NO FIRE FLAVOR if that is acceptable.

South of the border (no Egon, not the Canadian/US border but the Mexican/US border) street vendors sell charcoal grilled corn that has the shucks peeled back to act as a handle for turning while cooking as well as holding to eat them. The corn gets fairly dry and there is some caramelization of the sugar content. except for pieces of the kernel geting stuck in your teeth this stuff is delicious and relatively safe due to the heat involved.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Nat]

Well, I grilled some corn last night and it was tough. I don't know if it was the corn or the grilling. I soaked it in water for 10 min before I grilled it and for the first 15 min I had it on the top tray in the grill and then moved it to the bottom rack, closer to the fire. Some of the tassle burnt and some charing on the ends of the shucks, but not burned. Did I do something wrong or was it the corn?
Something I like to grill is veggies. I take potatoes,squash, zuc, onions, Bell pepper and banana pepper,then cube it, mix it together and put a pat of butter and a Tspoon of A-1 steak sause ont top of a piece of al foil then grill it slowly for 30 min on low heat. I nuke the potatoes for 1 min per cup befpre I put it on the grill because the potatoes take longer than the rest. I wrap the whole thing in foil to keep the juice boiling inside. The more pepper you add the better it is, but Vickie doesn't like pepper, so I keep it pretty mild or I have to keep 2 seperate batches and I'm to lazy to do that.
We love to grill in the summer time and with the new house I have a shady place to grill, and with the little beverage fridge close, I'm a happy man.

[Pat]

Nat, If the corn is probably all the same "vintage" and you are grilliing several ears, then at least peel back the shucks enough on a couple samples to expose some of the kernels so you can dig into a kernel with your fingernail. If it just mushes and doesn't squirt "milk" it is too far gone and will likely be tough and might be better boiled and cut off the cob. Grilling "old" corn is not a good thing.

With experience using the fingernail test you will learn what works and what doesn't.

DOESN'T LIKE PEPPER... is grounds for divoce in several states!!!

Last night I cut up about 8-10 banana peppers, one bell pepper, and three good sized jalepenos and sauteed them in extra virgin olive oil with some sesame oil added toward the end for flavor. I added chunks of left over turkey breast and a couple dozen slices of pepperoni. This went over a bed of brown rice flavored with a beef boulion cube while cooking. Oh yeah, some low sodium soy sauce and a dash of Worchester Shire sauce. A side dish of boiled carrots and squash, and of course quartered raw tomatos and cucumbers. For dessert: watermellon and cantelope.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]