Make Corn On The Cob Taste Irresistible With A Bourbon-Infused Twist
The sweet, juicy flavor of corn on the cob perfectly encapsulates a summer day spent barbecuing or picnicking. While the dish is incredible when it's hot outside, there are plenty of ways to season corn on the cob to make it suitable for a chilly autumn day. For delectable corn with a cozy taste, spice it up with bourbon butter.
No corn on the cob is complete without a pat of butter. The fat gives it extra flavor while helping to produce that delicious charred finish when grilling. However, you can always take things up a notch and give the butter a boozy flair. Bourbon butter is the key to enriching both savory and sweet dishes, and corn on the cob is excellent at representing both. The heady taste of bourbon complements the charred kernels while the spicy tasting notes elevate the sweet corn. When cooking with bourbon, go with a mid-range bottle that won't empty your wallet but will still get you your money's worth. Filled with rich flavors like oak, caramel, and vanilla, the deep taste will be fully present in your bourbon butter.
To make the bourbon butter, mash a stick of room-temperature butter in a bowl and slowly incorporate the bourbon in, mixing it until the butter is fluffy and the two ingredients are properly combined. You can also place the butter in an electric mixer and pour in the bourbon, along with salt and pepper.
Elevate your bourbon-infused corn on the cob with these additions
If you want to fully lean into the sweetness of both the corn and bourbon, spruce up the compound butter with baking spices. Add-ins like cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, or star anise hearken to the rich taste of bourbon while giving your corn more depth. You can even ramp up the sweetness even more by adding a touch of honey. Then, save some of the spicy bourbon butter to serve with a side of old-fashioned hot water cornbread.
For corn with more depth that eases up on the sweetness, embrace the nuttiness of bourbon. Whiskey filled with hazelnut, walnuts, or almond-tasting notes gives the booze an earthy edge that is perfect for corn. To amp this up, mix the bourbon into browned butter for a caramelized boost. Next, finish off the compound butter with a dash of roasted garlic and caramelized onions.
An earthy-tasting bourbon butter with corn is incredible, but it's even better with an umami boost. Mix the butter and bourbon with a dash of miso paste to give your corn a savory, tangy effect. And, add a dash of brown sugar, minced garlic, and parsley to complete the butter.