Garlic Citrus Butter for Corn on the Cob

My dad loved corn. Especially a white and yellow mix called Country Gentleman.   He always had a huge garden, a part of which was dedicated to his corn.  Mom would freeze nearly 200 hundred packages every year so he (and the 7-10 other hungry mouths at the table) could have a corn fix during the winter.   During the summer, we had “Roastin’ Ears”  every day.  Every single day.  Sometimes twice a day.  Slathered with lots of butter and a smidge of salt. Love it!    When you eat that much corn, though,  sometimes a little flavor change up keeps the love affair alive! 

Citrus butter provides a flavor twist to corn.  It’s simple to make and can have some variation, depending on what citrus fruit is available.  Keep the 2 teaspoons of lemon zest, but you can use all orange or lime for the remainder of the zest.  Zest is the colored part of the citrus fruit rind, finely grated.  Be sure to take only the outer layer of the rind because that’s where the flavor is.   The garlic gives a bit of contrast and rounds out the full bodied  flavor.   Nice!  Serve it for a special event – or just because! 

You can grill the corn in the husks by cutting off the stem and husk right up to the bottom of the cob.  Repeat on the top by cutting off the end of the husk and about the first half inch or so of the cob.  Turn the corn frequently to cook evenly.

I prefer to remove the husks before taking to the table.  Wheels is doing that in the photo above using a fork to hold the ear and pulling off the husks with tongs.  Paper towels are on the table and a swipe of one the full length of the ear cleans the silk off quite well. At a casual campfire type event you could just let guests help themselves to the grilled ears. Provide a bag near the serving station for the husks and paper towels. 

To grill without the husks, you’ll also need to turn frequently but you can add a bit of flavored and softened butter with a brush as you turn.  Watch carefully as cooking time is short and the corn will quickly pass from done to way overdone.   Or you can steam corn in the microwave as shown here.  (And that’s still my favorite and most often used method.)

By the way, corn was also a major crop for Wheels’ dad, too.  His specialty was acres and acres of DeKalb.  Bytes was named after these corn producing gentleman.  Both of them.  First name of one and the middle name of the other.   He’s allergic to corn.

Garlic Citrus Butter for Corn on the Cob

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A burst of sunny citrus and garlic to complement summer corn!

• Yield: Butter for 8 ears 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) light butter with oil or whipped butter
• 2 tsp each finely grated lemon, zest, lime zest and orange zest
• 2 cloves garlic
• 8 ears corn, cooked

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Instructions

1. Combine butter, citrus zest and chopped garlic.
2. Grill corn about 8 minutes.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Charlene @ A Pinch of Joy

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