Corn on the Cob

Foil-wrapped, buttered and roasted — the easy side that holds its heat

Oven or indirect on the brick BBQ • 180°C fan • Serves a crowd

Every barbecue needs the side that looks after itself. Corn wrapped in foil with butter asks nothing of you once it is in the oven, holds its heat for twenty minutes after it comes out, and gets eaten by children who will not touch a salad. It is the quiet workhorse of the spread.

Shop-bought cobettes — halved cobs, sold ready-trimmed and husked in packs of four — save the fiddly job of stripping silk off whole cobs, and they portion better: one per child, two per adult.

Ingredients

• 5 packs sweetcorn cobettes (20 half-cobs)
• 100 to 125g butter, softened
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 to 2 tsp mild BBQ rub (optional)
• Heavy-duty foil

— Flavoured Butter (optional) —

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Small handful parsley, chopped
• Squeeze of lemon
• Pinch of chilli flakes — worth keeping to a separate batch if children are eating

Method

1. Cobettes come ready-trimmed, so there is nothing to do but open the packs. Pat them dry — damp corn sheds butter.
2. Rub each one all over with softened butter. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of BBQ rub if you are using it.
3. Wrap in foil, two or three to a parcel, sealing the ends so no steam escapes.
4. Roast at 180°C fan for 40 to 45 minutes, turning the parcels once at the halfway point. 200°C fan will do it in about 35 minutes if you are pushed, but watch they do not shrivel.
5. Open one parcel to check: the kernels should be tender and juicy, and give slightly under a fingernail.
6. Leave the rest wrapped until you serve. The foil holds them hot for a good twenty minutes, which is exactly what you want when the smoker is running late.

Three Ways to Cook Them

Corn is forgiving, which is the point of it. Pick whichever method has capacity on the day:

• Oven, foil-wrapped: 40 to 45 minutes at 180°C fan. The default, and the one that holds heat best afterwards.
• Microwave: about 5 minutes on full power straight from the pack, turning halfway. Then butter, season, wrap in foil and set aside. This frees the oven completely and nobody at the table can tell the difference.
• On the BBQ: foil parcels on the indirect side for 20 to 25 minutes, turned occasionally. Unwrapped over direct heat it is closer to 15 minutes, turning frequently, and you get proper charred kernels — worth doing if the grill has space once the meat is off.

Timings

Work backwards from when you want everything on the table.

The one thing worth planning around: at 40 to 45 minutes, corn takes longer than most people assume. It is not a last-minute side. Get it in before you light anything.