Grilled Corn on the Cob, TWO ways!

My last post was the BBQ pulled pork sliders that were for Peter's birthday celebration. Well, we also grilled up some corn on the BBQ as a quick and easy side to go along with those easy pulled pork sandwiches. I had never grilled corn on an actual barbeque before, so we just kinda' winged it. When Peter and I were on our honeymoon, we had corn right on the beach that was roasted straight on the grill right there ... so I thought it would be fun to do it that way for his birthday! 

When I bought these ears of corn at the market, I asked a man in the produce section what was his favorite way to grill corn on the barbecue. He said that he likes to either wrap it in foil or in the corn husk. I really liked the idea of shucking the corn and then re-wrapping it in its own husk... but that was going to take too much time for this particular occasion (In my last post I explained why we didn't have much time to spend prepping in the kitchen for this BBQ birthday party :) So, I decided to try the foil wrapping method. But I also wanted to try grilling the corn naked over the fire like we had enjoyed on our honeymoon. In Bali, the naked ear of corn went straight over the fire and then butter, salt, seasonings, and any other toppings were dressed after it was roasted. 

I decided to do a little experiment by trying it both ways! and I figured we'd vote on which one was best to share with you on the blog... but they were both so good that I just have to share both.

(Enjoying our grilled corn on the beach in Bali):

For the corn that was to be wrapped in foil, I lightly buttered it before it was wrapped so that the salty, creamy butter would cook into the sweet corn. 

For the corn that was to go straight onto the grill, I went with a healthier option. I painted them with a little extra virgin olive oil (that would also help protect them on the grill since these guys had no wrapping) and sprinkled them with a dash of salt and pepper. 

**Nutrition Noteworthy: Corn is actually a WHOLE GRAIN. Yes, many people don't realize this, but it is a part of the whole grain family along with bulgur wheat, barley, quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, oats, etc. (just to name a few of the more common whole grains that you may have heard of :). This means that corn is, like the other whole grains, an important source of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals!**

(buttered, foil-wrapped corn):

Peter preheated the BBQ and I painted the grills with some oil and then placed all the corn, foil and no foil, right onto the grill: 

We closed the lid on the BBQ and let them grill for at least 20 minutes or so, turning them once half way through (or quarter turns every 5 minutes for more grill marks :)  
These BOTH came out SO tasty that I couldn't pick just one to share with you.   

You know how people do baked potato bars? Well, you could do a summertime/BBQ twist on that idea, by serving a 'corn on the cob bar'. Then people could dress their corn with any toppings they desire. Some fun ideas are: 

• Butter
• Parmesan
• Chile Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• Olive Oil
• Roasted Garlic
• Sweet Paprika
• Cayenne Powder
• Mayonnaise (I know this sounds... not healthy... but it's a popular option on roasted corn found on the beaches in Mexico) -if the idea of plain mayo doesn't sit well with you, you could always serve the mayo already flavored with any of the seasonings in this list. I imagine cayenne powder would be a good one :)