Spicy Griddled Sweetcorn
I was first introduced to sweetcorn on the barbecue in Wisconsin while visiting my great friend Brooke. We visited a local restaurant on her boat, a very special treat in itself. When we arrived I was greeted by several old tin bathtubs full of corn in the husks, soaking in water. The way it works is you grab a corn husk, take it to the grill, grill it until the husk starts to char, then peel back the husk to use it as a handle. Now here comes my favourite part. On the end of each grill there was a paint pot full of melted butter. You use the husk as a handle while you dunk the corn and thoroughly coat it in butter. What’s not to like about that. Served with a cold beer, by the lake, perfect.
So while this recipe isn’t for corn in the husk, it takes me back. The difference here is the spicy dust. Add butter if you want (and I probably do), but it’s fine without.
Cooking surfaces
BBQ Temperature
Ingredients
For the dust
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp maldon salt
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 chipotle flakes (or dried chilli flakes)
For the sweetcorn
- Corn on the cob
- Olive oil to drizzle
- Butter to serve (optional)
Method
- Put all the dust ingredients into a mortar and pestle and grind to a dust.
- Set your Big Green Egg for a direct cook at 180°C using just the stainless steel grid.
- Place the corn on the grid and lightly drizzle the top of the corn with olive oil.
- Cook for about 3 minutes before rotating the corn.
- Continue to cook and rotate until your corn is starting to brown in places and the kernels have changed colour from a milky colour to bright red. Total cook time will be about 15 minutes.
- Dust your corn using a tea strainer, be sparing, the dust is spicy.
- Serve with some of my Nando’s Chicken or Nando’s style rice.