One of the things we have always prided ourself with on this blog is teaching you simple ways to enhance the flavour of your food as well as cooking techniques. It is one thing to learn recipes, but it is yet an entirely different thing to learn how to cook. I used to crave the formal cooking knowledge as I learnt to cook by hand in the way all traditional cultures teach- through experience, passing down from one generation to the next. Learning to cook was no more fanfare than learning all the other life skills and doing all the other chores necessary in the home growing up. There was so much that I learnt from the women in my family and gleaned from other keen cooks but I still desired more structured learning to be able to go outside of my traditional Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine and tackle the unfamiliar. I guess that is one of the reasons I ended up marrying a chef (still our most popular post, from which many spin-offs have launched). This week, in our Cooking Class series, I am going tackling a simple thing with a profound result- how to grill corn on the stove top.
Maybe we should start with “Why”
- It’s easy
- It’s quick
- Adds a completely different profile to the corn from the regular boiled cord
- Makes it easy to add to salads
- Looks great in salads
- Totally delicious
- Healthy, vegan, vegetarian
- The one time burning your food is absolutely the aim and not a fail.
How to Grill Corn on the Stove Top
- You need a gas stove. Electric cooktops and induction cookers will not do.
- You could also do this directly on charcoal or even a small woodfire. That sounds strange in this modern era but that is how my grandparents managed to do most of their cooking with very energy efficient and sustainable dried wood from their farms. A Jamaican coal stove is also great for this and you can do a whole bunch at a time as opposed to one-by one on the stove
- If your corn has eaves, pull them back and strip off all the hairs as well. You can either cut them off completely.
- Grab some high quality stainless steel tongs. Do NOT use wood, plastic or other flammable tongs. BBG tongs are perfect as well.
- Turn on the flame.
- Char/ the corn all over. Don’t be afraid if it looks burnt. Just don’t turn the thing into a complete rod of charcoal by leaving it unattended. In fact you have to watch this and keep on turning it to distribute the heat evenly around the entire corn.
- Serve will salted butter or shave off by standing cooled corn on cutting board and shave off with sharp chefs knife. Add shaved corn to salads or other dishes to impart a nice smokey flavour.
- That’s it.
I ended up using my roasted corn in another recipe that I pretty much made up utilizing things I had in the fridge. That’s one of my favourite ways to push my creativity in the kitchen and come up with new recipes. How do you like your roasted corn?
Some great recipes to use up your roasted corn from other bloggers:
The Twin Cooking Project (The Twin Cooking Project) says
I love grilled corn! This looks yummy!
Chef and Steward says
Me too. #BestSnackEver Thanks much
Jacqueline Debono says
Never thought of grilling cornon the stove top. Great idea. Def want to try it!
Chef and Steward says
Yes, you should Jacqueline! And it is so quick and easy and no cleanup necessary!
thefoodblognet says
I’m so glad we have an outdoor grill to do this on, because my stove is a ceramic cooktop. Looks amazing!
Chef and Steward says
It’s good that you do have an outdoor grill to compensate for the ceramic cooktop. I just love cooking with fire!
Catherine Brown says
Perfect for when it’s too cold or nasty to grill outdoors! That’s just the right amount of char on there too. A little smoked salt and smoked paprika are great to give it the smoky flavor that grilling over charcoal provides too. Now I want corn-on-the-cob! 🙂
Chef and Steward says
THat’s what I love about this… it is so practical. Whether for a snack or to take salads and tacos to another level. It’s just easy, breezy and no clean up.
sheraw says
Roast corn was one of my favorite dishes to make in Barbados.
Chef and Steward says
Good to find a fellow Caribbean blogger. Happy to have triggered a memory of your beautiful island home
Sandra Garth says
Never in a million years would I have thought to do this. Thank you in big gigantic bunches!
Chef and Steward says
Sandra, thank you ever so much for your very useful feedback. I feel like I am back to myself after lots of international moves over the past two years and it is great to have this community.
Amanda says
I’ve never thought to grill corn on the stove but what a genius idea! I just love the flavor it gives to the corn, and I’ll be using this method plenty from now on. Thanks for sharing!
Chef and Steward says
The best part? No grill to clean!