Before this summer, my husband and I had never been very adventurous when it came to grilling. We have had a few grand ideas but tended to fall back on fail-safe burgers and brats. Now that we have an infant and are housebound after baby’s bedtime, I guess it seems like we might as well get a little creative with the grill and hang out on our back patio as the sun goes down.

I’m sure grilling corn doesn’t seem that adventurous to many, but we’d never done it. I’ve read so many recipes that sound deliciously awesome, but it is so easy to throw some corn in a pot of boiling water for a minute and, well, I’m lazy.

Last night we decided to grill some pork chops and I was determined to do corn as well. I googled and found a recipe online that did not involve wrapping the corn in its own husks or soaking it in water or any of that nonsense (then you are essentially just steaming it, so what is the point?) I wanted those puppies on the grill grate!

This recipe was easy and so very summery. The original recipe called for parsley, but the basil is overflowing in my garden, and I just prefer it.

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Grilled corn with basil-garlic butter

Adapted from recipe on kitchendaily.com

Ingredients

4 ears sweet corn in their husks

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

Coarse salt and black pepper

You will also need: Butcher’s string

1) Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.

2) Fashion the husk of each ear of corn into a handle, tying back the husks with butchers string, and remove the corn silk.

3) Place the butter, basil, and garlic in a mixing bowl and whisk or beat until smooth and creamy.

4) When ready to cook, lightly brush each ear of corn with a little of the garlic-parsley butter and arrange on the hot grate, positioning the ears in such a way that the husks are away from the fire. Grill the corn until the kernels are handsomely browned all over, 8 to 12 minutes in all, turning as needed, brushing with the remaining butter, and seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Remove the corn from the grill and serve at once.