Grilled Corn with Basil Butter
lisina
Photo by James Ransom
- Serves
- 4 to 8
Now that the first corn is starting to appear at the markets, it's pretty much all I can think about, all the time. The flavors are so magically summery: sweet, herbacious, charred, creamy. And it's super easy. My only advice: make a lot.
Ingredients
Grilled Corn
- 8 ears of corn, shucked
- Olive oil
- Salt
Basil Butter
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup basil, loosely packed
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
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This is a fast and simple way to make corn truly sing. The basil adds a delightful brightness to the sweet corn, and it plays perfectly with the traditional butter and salt additions. Grilling the corn takes the most time, which was only about 6 minutes. The basil butter is a keeper -- and it's a good thing, because there is a lot of it left over. I would definitely make this recipe again.
Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
Preheat grill to medium hot.
- Step 2
Roll corn in a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. When grill is hot, add corn and close the lid. Rotate the corn a few times, until some of the kernels are blistered and the rest a bright and shiny yellow. This shouldn't take longer than 8 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, or the corn will be dry.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, add the butter, basil, and salt to a food processer and let it rip. You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice. When the basil is finely chopped and the butter has a light green tint, it's done.
- Step 4
When the corn comes off the grill, slather it with the basil butter. Sprinkle with a little more salt if desired. Eat immediately.
- Step 5
Note: basil butter can be made ahead and extra basil butter will keep for about a week or two in the fridge. You can roll it into a log with plastic wrap and slice it off as you need it. It's AMAZING on toast.