Sunday, August 5, 2007

I'm as corny as Oregon in August...

This being the month of my birth, sweet corn is starting to show up in the local farmers' markets here in Portland. I picked up a few ears today at the Hillsdale market and upon arriving home, set about searching the internet for a good preparation involving the grill. Here's a breakdown of what I came up with:

Start by peeling the ears of all but their innermost layers of husk and removing as much of the silk as you can, then soak them in cold water for at least 15 minutes:


Shake the ears dry, peel back the remaining layers of husk, remove any remaining silk, and brush the kernels with olive oil. If you're feeling adventurous, add some chopped herbs to the oil. I went with basil and thyme (gathered from my backyard herb garden, of course):


Wrap the ears back up in their husks, secure with string, and place them on the grill over a medium flame:


Turn the ears regularly until they're lightly and evenly charred on all sides. Then set the flame to low, close the lid, and let them roast for another 20 minutes. When they're done, peel them (be careful; they'll be hot). Then take a step back and behold their magnificence:


Now slather them with butter (if you live in Oregon, I recommend locally produced Rogue Creamery butter; best I've tasted yet) and dig in. If you don't end up with herbs, butter and corn juice all over yourself, you've done something wrong, and you'll have to start again from the beginning...

PS: to those of you to whom this might mean something, and that would be only ONE of you (you know who you are), this is my second post in 24 hours, which pencils out to a rate of 730 per year. So stop complaining. And for the love of Pete, leave a damn comment already! ;-)

4 comments:

T. Baker said...

Your corn looks delicious and slightly phallic! Well done!

Tommy said...

I'd say it's more than slightly phallic. But delicious, yes.

Anonymous said...

Wow...that looks so good. We haven't had corn on the cob yet this summer and now I think we kind of have to -- especially on the grill.

Definitely going to give this a try! :)

Tommy said...

Go for it Michelle. And thanks for stopping by!