At the height of summer, there is nothing more perfect than eating hot and juicy grilled corn right off the cob. There are many ways to cook fresh corn: boil it, steam it, sauté it, or even microwave it. But corn is a summer vegetable, and summertime is the perfect time for grilling on your TEC Grill! So the next time you see a big bin of fresh corn at the market, grab a few extra ears and try grilling it to use in these summertime grilled corn recipes.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Sweet corn is available year-round in grocery stores, but there is nothing like fresh sweet corn just picked in the summer time. Look for ears that feel heavy in your hand with bright smooth husks. Avoid husks that look dried out, or tassels that are dark brown.
If you want to check the kernels, peel back just a little bit of the husk at the top to see the very tip of the cob. This will also show you if there is any rot at the top of the cob, or if there are critters crawling around inside. But keep the husk on the cob until you go to cook the corn. This will keep the kernels from drying out. It tastes best to eat corn within a day or two after you buy it.

TEC Grills Summer Grilled Corn

GRILL THE CORN

There are two ways to grill corn on your TEC Grill, and either way is delicious!

TEC Grills Summer Grilled Corn on the Grill

The first way is to keep the husk on the corn cob. This will result in juicy steamed corn without char on the kernels, but with a grassy outdoors taste.
  1. Preheat your TEC Grill on medium-high heat with the hood closed for 10 minutes.
  2. Carefully peel back the husks of the corn cobs, and remove the silk.
  3. Carefully pull the husks back over the cob to cover it. Secure the top with a piece of twine if desired.
  4. Soak the cobs in cold water for 15 minutes.
  5. Place the cobs on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until the corn is hot and steaming, about 8-10 minutes.
  6. Remove from the grill, peel back the husks, and immediately top with butter if eating right away. Or let cool, and cut the kernels off the cobs to use in the recipes below.
The second way of grilling corn is to remove the husks, and grill the kernels directly over the heat. This gives you a little bit drier kernels, but more of that char flavor.
  1. Preheat your TEC Grill on medium-high heat with the hood closed for 10 minutes.
  2. Remove the husks and silk from the corn.
  3. Rub the kernels all over with canola oil.
  4. Place the cobs on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until the corn is charred all over, about 8-10 minutes.
  5. Remove from the grill, and immediately top with butter if eating right away. Or let cool, and cut the kernels off the cobs to use in the recipes below.

FLANK STEAK TACOS WITH GRILLED STREET CORN SALSA

Taco Tuesday gets a major upgrade with these spicy ancho chile steak and corn tacos. Not your typical condiment, the corn salsa has all the flavors of Mexican style street corn. While the red pepper mayonnaise is the perfect earthy and creamy garnish.

TEC Grills Summer Grilled Corn Flank Steak Tacos

1 pound flank steak
1 tablespoon ground ancho chile powder
Canola oil
2 ears corn, shucked
1 red pepper
1 small red onion, peeled and cut into rings
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 lime
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Dash of hot sauce
1/2 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
6 taco-size corn or flour tortillas
  1. Preheat your TEC Grill on medium-high heat for 10 minutes with the hood closed.
  2. Season the flank steak with salt and pepper, and then rub all over with the ancho chile powder. Set aside to rest at room temperature (no longer than 30 minutes).
  3. Rub the corn and red pepper with canola oil all over.
  4. Grill the corn, red pepper, and red onion until charred all over, about 10 minutes. Remove from grill, and place red pepper in a small covered bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  5. Cut the kernels off the cobs of corn as soon as they are cool enough to handle, and place in a medium mixing bowl.
  6. Roughly chop the red onion, and add to the corn.
  7. Add the butter and cheese to the corn and stir to combine.
  8. Cut the lime in half, and squeeze one half into the corn mixture. Cut the other half into wedges for serving. Season corn salsa with salt and pepper.
  9. Rub off the skin of the red pepper with a paper towel. Roughly chop and place in bowl of food processor.
  10. Add the mayonnaise and hot sauce to the food processor bowl. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and place in a serving bowl.
  11. Grill the flank steak until charred and cooked to desired temperature, about 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare.
  12. Remove steak from grill, and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice steak thinly against the grain.
  13. Grill tortillas until warm and starting to char. Top each tortilla with a few strips of steak, some of the corn salsa, slices of avocado, and cilantro. Drizzle with the red pepper mayonnaise.

CRAB AND GRILLED CORN FRITTERS

Rather than a heavy breaded and fried fritter, this recipe produces fritters that are light, crispy, and full of crab and corn flavor. The addition of stone-ground grits (or cornmeal) lends a little extra crunch. They are perfect as an appetizer, or even a light lunch or dinner with a salad and some sourdough bread.

TEC Grills Summer Grilled Corn and Crab Fritters

2 ears corn, shucked
Canola oil
2-3 green onions
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup stone-ground grits or cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons flour
8 ounces cooked crab
Lemon wedges
  1. Preheat your TEC Grill on medium-high heat for 10 minutes with the hood closed.
  2. Rub the corn and red pepper with canola oil all over.
  3. Grill the corn and green onion until charred all over, about 2-3 minutes for the green onion and 10 minutes for the corn. Remove from grill, and let cool slightly.
  4. Cut the kernels off the cobs of corn as soon as they are cool enough to handle, and place in a medium mixing bowl.
  5. Roughly chop the green onions, and add them to the corn.
  6. Add the egg, milk, grits, baking powder, and flour, and stir to combine.
  7. Gently fold in the crab, and stir again. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add enough canola oil to cover the bottom of the skillet.
  9. When the oil is hot, drop batter into skillet by the tablespoon full. Fry fritters on both sides until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.
  10. Remove from the pan, and place on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
  11. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
TEC Tips: You could also serve the fritters with the red pepper mayonnaise from the flank steak taco recipe. Try substituting the crab with chopped cooked shrimp too!
If you have the TEC Commercial Style-Griddle, you can use that to griddle the corn fritters. No need to heat up the kitchen in summer!

HOT GRILLED CORN DIP

Make this dip for your next summer party, and watch it quickly disappear. Because who doesn’t like hot, gooey, corn, and cheese dip? This version will not disappoint, as it gets an extra boost of flavor from grilling the corn and chiles ahead of time. Check out our Game Day blog for the recipe!

TEC Grills Game Day Recipes - Hot Corn and Chile Dip

What’s your favorite way to eat summer corn? Share with us by tagging your pics with @tecgrills!