Corn with Sorghum Butter
For American grilling enthusiasts, grilled fresh corn on the cob with a dollop of flavored butter is the ultimate roll-up-your-sleeves-and-dig-in kind of food. It can be a generous side dish to fish, meat or poultry on the grill.
Ingredients:
- 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 3 Tbs. butter, melted
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt, to taste
- 2 Tbs. sweet sorghum syrup or molasses
- 6 ears of corn, husks and silk removed
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
To make the sorghum butter, in a bowl, whisk the 16 Tbs. butter until smooth. Whisk in the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Add the syrup in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until incorporated. Scrape the butter onto a piece of parchment paper and shape into a rough log. Fold the paper over the butter, rolling it gently to close. Press a ruler against the seam and pull the loose end of the paper while applying pressure against the ruler to form the butter into a straight log. Refrigerate the log for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.
Soak the corn in ice water to cover for 10 minutes. Drain the corn and pat dry with paper towels. Brush with some of the melted butter and season with salt and pepper.
Prepare a medium-hot fire in a grill. Brush and oil the grill grate.
Grill the corn directly over medium-high heat, turning often and basting as needed with the remaining melted butter, until lightly charred and caramelized on all sides, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the corn to a platter. Unwrap the sorghum butter, place it on a butter dish and serve with the hot corn. Serves 6.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma On the Grill, by Willie Cooper (Oxmoor House, 2009).