How to Cook Corn on the Cob

Cooking Corn on the Cob

The corn on the Jersey shore is the best I’ve ever had—sweet and tender and bursting with flavor.  I thought it would be nice to give you a few ideas of ways to serve corn that might be a little bit out of the box.  Before we go adding all sorts of ingredients though, I should add that when your corn is wholesome and fresh, sometimes less is more.

In that spirit, here are a couple of ways to enjoy your sweet corn the way it comes off of the stalks—on the cob.

Steamed Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned of silk
• Water
• Fresh herbs (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter

How to Make at Home

Fill a large pot with about 1” of water.  If you would like, add some fresh herbs to the water for additional flavor.  Bring the water to a boil.

Place ears of corn in a steamer insert colander and carefully place in the large pot.  Cover and let the corn steam for 5-10 minutes, depending on how soft you like the kernels.  If your corn is very fresh and sweet, you really only need to steam it long enough to heat it.

Serve with softened butter and salt and pepper, to taste.  You could also use herbed butter or garlic butter—any kind of compound butter would do.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn, husks still on
• Water
• Fresh herbs (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter

How to Make at Home

(Optional first step) Bring fresh herbs to simmer in enough water to cover the ears of corn.  Cool and proceed.

Soak the corn in salted water for about 30 minutes before grilling.  You will probably have to weigh the corn down with a plate or some cans to keep them submerged.

Set your gas grill to medium-high, or use one layer of charcoal in a charcoal grill.

Place the ears of corn on your grilling grate and cover.

Let grill for 5-10 minutes, and then turn the ears.  Keep grilling and turning the ears.  The husks will get crisp and browned and might even flare up occasionally.  That’s okay—you won’t end up with burnt corn.

Once the ears are browned on all sides, about 30 minutes or so, carefully take them off the grill.  Wearing oven mitts, pull the husks and silk away from the corn.  Serve with softened butter or compound butter and salt and pepper, to taste.

Related Topics

Creamy Corn Soup Recipe

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Jersey Sweet Corn

Yorkshire Pudding - memories from my childhood

Yesterday I posted a recipe for a Standing Rib Roast. Yorkshire Pudding is the perfect partner for it. I remember as a kid, my mom made it often with Sunday roasts. I never knew how she got that delicious beef flavor into the puffy cake. Whenever we make this now, it takes me back to my childhood.

You can put this batter together before the roast comes out of the oven and let it stand at room temperature until you are ready to make the puddings.

Yorkshire Pudding
Serves 4 but can be doubled or tripled, if necessary

• 2 tablespoons beef drippings or 2 tablespoons oil or clarified butter
• 5 oz. whole milk
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs

While the meat is resting, make Yorkshire pudding. Turn the oven up to 450° degrees F.

Whisk together the flour, salt and black pepper in a bowl.

Put about 1 1/2 teaspoons of drippings, oil or clarified butter into each hole in a nonstick Yorkshire pudding tin or in a large nonstick muffin tin. Put the tin in the oven to get the fat very hot.

Whisk the eggs a bit to break them up, then stir them into the flour mixture. Still whisking, slowly add the milk until you have a smooth batter.

Transfer this batter to a liquid measuring cup with a spout.

Open the oven door. The fat in the muffin tin should be almost smoking. Quickly pour the batter into each hole, filling no more than 3/4 of the way. The fat should sizzle when you pour the batter. Work quickly, so you don’t lose all the oven heat.

Bake, without opening the oven door, for 15-20 minutes, until the puddings are a deep golden brown and very well risen and crisp. Serve hot alongside the roast.

Green Beans with Grape Tomatoes

I found this recipe in my latest Cuisine at Home cooking magazine and adapted it a little for my family’s tastes. I was a little concerned that my girls wouldn’t enjoy them because of the garlic, but my 10 year old loved them.

Most of the time when I cook fresh string beans at home, I steam them and serve. It’s quick and easy, but this recipe adds a whole bunch of incredible flavor. The cooking technique is to first blanch the beans, then saute the garlic and tomatoes and finish by combining all together. Blanching vegetables before sauteing is a great technique and often done in professional kitchens. It adds another step but it’s well worth it.

Grape tomatoes are now available everywhere and they seem to have a lot more flavor than hot house tomatoes. Normally I don’t recommend fresh tomatoes when they are out of season, but I’m finding grape tomatoes are a great alternative. Use sea salt if you have it on your shelves.

Green Beans with Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, slivered
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive
• Sea salt to taste

How to Prepare at Home

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the beans for 4 to 5 minutes. I used a strainer to hold the string beans so I could just drop them in and pull them out. While the beans are blanching in the boiling water, add some ice to a bowl and fill three quarters with water.

When the beans are done blanching, remove from boiling water and immediately transfer to the bowl of ice water. This is called “shocking,” and will stop the cooking process and retain the color of the beans. Once the beans are cool, drain and reserve.

Heat a saute pan big enough to hold all the string beans. Add the oil and when hot, saute the garlic and tomatoes over medium heat for 2 minutes, being sure not to burn the garlic. If the garlic does start to burn, remove it from the heat immediately while keeping the garlic moving in the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add the string beans and stir together with the tomatoes and garlic. You are just trying to warm up the beans and combine flavors. Season with salt and serve. The original recipe calls pepper flakes to give the beans an extra little flavor but my wife and kids would not eat them with pepper flakes so you decide.

These string beans were so good, my daughter requested we serve them on Thanksgiving. A great testimony for this recipe.