At Red Wagon, we grow and sell vegetables and fruit that define SUMMER– fresh from the fields, ripe, delicious, and chosen for taste. This weekly blog is a new addition to our website, designed to share easy mouth-watering recipes featuring the freshest produce available at our market.
Nothing says summer like Red Wagon Sweet Corn. On hot nights, when meat feels too heavy, we eat only sweet corn for supper, paired maybe with fresh fruit or cucumbers and tomatoes. A lot of times, we head home from the farm and boil our corn (not too long: get the water to a rolling boil, drop in the corn, and turn off the stove), but a FAVORITE method around here is what we call “Camping Corn.” You can make it over a campfire, but it’s just about as good on the grill: buttery, smoky, and steamed tender. You’ll only need butter, salt and pepper (or herbs of your choice), and squares of aluminum foil big enough to wrap each individual ear of corn.
Shuck the corn first, and remove as much of the silk as you care to. Tear off a piece of aluminum foil big enough to wrap around single ear. Put the cleaned ear in the center and use a butter knife to spread softened butter all over the ear. Don’t worry if you miss a few spots; you don’t need a ton of butter for this to be delicious. Salt and pepper the corn according to your taste. If you’re in the mood for something a little more gourmet, you can add garlic, herbs, or parmesan cheese, but our kids get suspicious if we mix things up, so salt and pepper is about as adventurous as we get. After you’ve seasoned the ear, roll it tightly, twisting the ends. Repeat with each ear and place them all on the grill. If you’re using a gas grill, medium heat is fine, but charcoal will give you a smokier flavor. Leave them on for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. I like mine a little burnt, so I take the ones right over the flames, while the kids like theirs more steamed and take the ears from around the periphery. Either way, the results are delicious, and everyone ends up full and buttery, glad there is no obligatory meat course to eat at the end.
Avoid throwing away leftovers, should you happen to have any. Slice fire-roasted corn off the cob to toss in salsa or tomato salad, use on tacos, or freeze to throw in chili in the fall. In fact, whenever we serve corn, I almost always prepare a few extra ears, so I can fill up a freezer bag after each meal. There is nothing like the taste of summer when leaves are off the trees and snow is in the air
Of course, we don’t like to think about that now. This is July, a perfect time to Welcome You Back to The Red Wagon. See you at the Market!
