Grilled Corn on the Cob

I'm having a corn problem. Unlike my zucchini problem, though, Nick's okay with this one. Partially because he likes corn, and partially because this obsession comes with a lot more variety. Whereas the zucchini obsession centered mostly on zucchini fritters, a corn obsession involves corn fritters, corn and toasted cumin salsa, creamless creamed corn, Mexicanish stuffed tomatoes, fish grilled in corn husks, ribeye with warm tomato and corn salad, golden corn chowder, and corn pudding (coming soon).

I've previously discussed how corn on the cob can be nice if you're in the mood for something simple, but it tends to get stuck in your teeth and it's not terribly exciting and all that stuff. It is, however, one of those necessary rites of summer.

Well, over at Poor Girl Gourmet, grilled corn on the cob was recently mentioned. I've actually never really seen the point in grilling corn on the cob, but I had never before seen a recipe that involved first soaking the ears of corn in some water. Also, Amy swore that this corn is exceptional, and that it's like corn creme brulee.

I was curious, we wanted a minimal prep meal, and we were going to have the grill fired up anyway, so we decided to give this a try. And the verdict? It was yummy, and it was a fun experiment. The corn, though, was nothing exceptional. It wasn't really even that much better than some plain old boiled corn on the cob. I should note, though, that we have a gas grill. A charcoal grill with its smouldering hunks of wood might have added a lot more interest to the corn than our propane was able to.

So I don't want you to think that I'm posting a recipe in this forum that I don't think is worth trying. It is, if only because it's a fun experiment and it doesn't take a lot of time or effort. Plus, you might think that I'm crazy and this is the best corn you've ever eaten. In fact, if you try this, feel free to let me know what you thought of it in the comments section.

One thing worth noting is that this cooking method was much more successful with the thin, anemic type ears, as opposed to the fat, juicy ears. So if you get a batch of corn that's not all plump and robust, this grilling trick may be the way to go.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

(From Poor Girl Gourmet)

Make 1 to 2 ears per person, depending on your appetite. You can also intentionally cook extra and cut the kernels off later and add them to stuffed vegetables or a summer salad.

Take your ears of corn and strip off the parts of the husk that are loose and dangly. Pull the silk out from the top of the ears. Submerge the ears in water for an hour. If they're not completely covered by the water, flip them around half way through.  As Amy suggests, you can then use the soaking water to nourish your plants.

This is a direct quote from Amy, as she explains this part just right:

At the end of the soaking hour, preheat the grill to high if using a gas grill, or create a hot bed of coals in your charcoal grill (charcoal grilling, of course, lends additional smoky flavor to the corn, and is also worth the effort. For the purpose of this post, the timings given are for high heat on a covered gas grill, though the visual cues can be used to guide you if you're grilling with charcoal.).

Spread your ears over the grill and cook them, covered, for 5 to 7 minutes. Rotate the ears a quarter turn and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. You'll do a total of four sides, for a total cooking time of about 20 to 24 minutes. I might try a little less next time, but this is a good place to start. When the corn is ready, the husks will be blackened, and there may be some charred kernels peeking out.

You can serve these in the husks, or you can let them cool a bit and then shuck them. I actually thought that it worked rather well to let the ears cool, and in the meantime grill up our thick-cut, brined pork chops.

Delicious Fish: Fish Grilled in Corn Husks

I was looking through some food blogs the other day when I stumbled upon this little goody. I don't know what it was about this recipe, but it elicited that OhMyGodIHaveToMakeThat response.

Maybe it was the fact that a week of 100+ degree days had me going to all kinds of lengths in order to avoid turning on the oven. I had previously learned the hard way, while making delicious blueberry bars, that keeping the oven on for any amount of time can cause the already over-taxed air conditioner to fall so far behind that there is no longer any hope of keeping the house cool. I don't even want to think about what the electricity bill is going to look like.

Therefore, I've been looking for recipes that can be cooked in a skillet, in the toaster oven, or better yet, on the grill. This, with some freshly made pesto-tossed quinoa, was perfect. Plus, it just sounded fun.

The original authors of the recipe used salmon, which sounds absolutely delicious, but I had some flounder in the freezer that I needed to use up. As I put it to Nick, "I have some old fish that I should probably use." Now doesn't that sound appetizing?

The original authors also added butter to the mix, which I decided to forgo because of the vast amounts of butter that I had recently consumed, due to my blueberry bar addiction. Otherwise I left the recipe pretty much intact, although part of the reason I like this recipe so much is because of its adaptability.

You could add all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and spices, and you could use all kinds of fish. Even shrimp would work well. I particularly like the idea of adding some basil and/or parsley to the mix, or maybe some smoked paprika or fresh garlic.

My parting words of wisdom: do not, while attempting to get a picture of these fish husks, put the fully-cooked packets back over the direct heat. The dried-out corn husks will catch fire, and you'll find yourself swatting at them and hoping that you're not about to burn your house down.

You should check out the pictures on the original site--they're much better than mine, and I doubt they caught their dinner on fire. Plus, that grilled fennel is pretty high on the what-to-make-next list.

Flounder Grilled in Corn Husks

(Adapted from Another Pint Please...)

• 4 ears of corn
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 tsp capers, rinsed
• 1/4 cup finely sliced scallions
• 4 6-ounce pieces flounder
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

When shucking the corn, attempt to keep the husks intact, and set them aside. Cut the kernels off of the ears of corn, and in a medium bowl, mix them with the red pepper, capers, and scallions. Take 4 6-ounce portions of flounder and place them in the corn husks, and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the corn mixture on top of the fish, and tie the husks closed. You'll likely have some corn mixture left over. You can eat it raw along side the fish, toast it in a skillet or in the toaster oven (or oven), or put it in a cast iron skillet or other flame-proof vessel, and place the skillet on the grill while the fish cooks.

Cook the fish in the corn husks for 6 minutes over direct heat, and then 6 minutes over indirect heat. Carefully untie the husks, scoop out the filling, and enjoy. Meal can also be served left in the husks.

Texas-Style Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

Last week was a major fatty-fat week. We ate, and we ate, and we ate some more. So this week, we were going to be healthy. Chicken breasts and vegetables, fish and plain rice, no cheese before dinner, fruit for dessert. That's why we bought ribs at the grocery store.


Well, we meant to be healthy. There's always next week.


We used to use a recipe for bourbon ribs from Epicurious, but as it calls for apple butter and apple cider, it's really more of a Fall-ish desert. Daniel Boulud had the answer, though, in the form of his Texas-Style Baby Back Ribs. Now, there's really nothing barbecued about these ribs. They're not slowly cooked and smoked over low, indirect heat after being rubbed with a variety of spices. These ribs are in a barbecue-style sauce, but they're not even supposed to see the grill. What can I say?-- he's French.

And honestly, we're not worried about authenticity. We actually like recipes that call for braising ribs because it results in succulent, falling-off-the-bone-tenderness. In order to accomplish this with dry heat, we would have to cook the meat at a very low temperature for a very long time. This wasn't appealing on this particular day for a number of reasons, so we figured we would braise the ribs and finish them on the grill.


Daniel's recipe had all of the elements we were looking for--a yummy sauce, no seasonally inappropriate ingredients, a wet cooking method, a cooking method that didn't require having the grill on for 5 hours, etc. We figured we'd throw the ribs on the grill for a few minutes at the end and we'd have just what we were looking for.


Now, one of the best things about eating ribs is the fact that it's perfectly acceptable to eat them with your hands. Everything is better when eaten with the hands--crabs, cake, etc. So we wanted a side that was also finger-friendly. For a veggie we came up with green beans, which are another post, and oven fries. Meat and potatoes, we love you.


Our all-time oven fries are the Bistro French Fries from Epicurious. They're tasty without being too unhealthy, and the best part is the way they're tossed with garlic and parsley when they're fresh out of the oven. The sharp tang of the garlic with the soothing green of the parsley are the perfect counterpoint to the crispy brown exterior and fluffy warm interior of the fries. They've become a part of the regular rotation in our house, and if you try them you'll see why. I especially love them with some apple cider vinegar.

Texas-Style Barbecued Baby Back Rib

(Adapted from Daniel Boulud's Braise)

For the Ribs:


-2 racks (about 4 pounds) baby back ribs, each cut in two pieces.
-1 onion, peeled and halved
-1 leek, white part only, split in half and cleaned well
-1 stalk celery
-1 carrot
-3 juniper berries
-1 tablespoon coarse sea salt or Kosher salt
-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


For the Rub:

-3 tablespoons smoked Spanish paprika

-1 tablespoon cumin seeds
-2 teaspoons regular oregano or dried Mexican oregano
-1 tablespoon black peppercorns
-2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
-2 tablespoons chili powder
-2 teaspoons garlic powder
-2 teaspoons onion powder
-2 teaspoons dry mustard
-Finely grated zest of 1 lemon




For the Sauce:


-1 large onion, peeled and diced
-4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
-1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
-Splash of chili sauce, to taste
-1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
-1/4 cup molasses
-1/4 cup cider vinegar
-Small pinch freshly grated peeled fresh ginger root
-1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or Kosher salt
-3/4 cup espresso or strong coffee
-1 tablespoon canola oil, for searing the ribs




Place the ribs in a large pot with the onion, leek, celery, carrot, juniper berries, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper and pour in enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the ribs to a plate and pat dry.


Strain the liquid in the pot through a fine-mesh sieve. Return the strained liquid to the pot, bring it to a boil, and cook, skimming the fat from the surface occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to 2 1/2 cups. This might take a lot linger than you would anticipate--as much as 45 minutes. Remove from the heat.


To make the rub, grind all the rub ingredients together in a spice grinder. Rub 2 tablespoons of the mixture over the ribs.


To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients with the reduced poaching liquid.


Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.


In a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over high heat, heat the oil. Add the ribs (in batches if necessary) and sear until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot, transfer it to the oven, and braise until the ribs are meltingly tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes.


Carefully remove the pot from the oven and transfer the ribs to a plate. Preheat the grill.


Reduce the sauce until it is the proper consistency for barbecue sauce and slather it on the ribs.


Cook the ribs quickly over the flames--just enough to caramelize the sauce without burning. Remove from the grill and serve, with extra sauce on the side if desired.

Bistro French Fries with Parsley and Garlic 

(Adapted from Epicurious)

-4 medium russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), roughly peeled
-1 teaspoon peanut oil
-1 teaspoon canola oil, more if fries are not coated
-1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-Coarse salt




Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices, then cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-wide strips. Submerge potatoes in large bowl filled with hot water and allow to soak for 10 minutes.


Remove the potatoes from the water and pat dry with paper towels. Combine potatoes and oil in large bowl; toss to coat well. Divide potatoes between 2 large parchment paper-lined baking sheets; spread in single layer. Bake until potatoes are golden brown and soft in the center, turning and rearranging potatoes frequently, about 50 minutes.


Transfer potatoes back to the bowl. Toss with parsley, garlic and coarse salt.