Smoked Corn On The Cob

Corn is an excellent summer side dish and smoked corn on the cob is so much better! Addition of smoky flavor to the sweet, buttery corn is just what you need to go with your summer barbecue.

Smoked Corn On The Cob

Corn on the cob is one of the most popular side dishes during summer. It’s present at just about every picnic, cook-out, barbecue, and summer holiday celebration. You can’t beat biting into the buttery, sweet corn and having the little kernels burst with juicy flavors.

Only way to beat that is to infuse some tasty new flavors into it, like smoke flavors. There isn’t much you can’t improve by adding smoky flavor off the grill. Grilled corn on the cob is great, don’t get me wrong, but there isn’t enough smoked flavor. To infuse a deeper flavor, you have to smoke it, and smoke it nice and slow.

Next time you’re making some pork butt, chicken, sausage, or any other meats, set an extra hour aside at the end to smoke some corn. Corn takes only about 45 minutes to an hour, great to throw on during the last hour of smoking.

How To Smoke Corn On The Cob

Ingredients:

Corn on the cob – make sure to get corn that is still in husks!

Butter – use unsalted butter so you can better control the salt amount.

Seasoning – just a simple combination of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Herbs – combine dried parsley and dill weed.

Prepare the Corn:

Carefully pull the husks back and try not to break too many of them. Take off all the whiskers and pull the husks back on.

Place it in a large roasting pan or a pot and cover it with enough cold water so it’s fully covered. Let it soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours. (No need to soak it any longer.)

After soaking, take the corn out and shake it off. Carefully pull the husks back and pat down as much water as you can.

Mix melted butter with seasoning and herbs and generously brush the corn cob with it all over. Carefully pull the husk back over the corn and repeat with remaining cobs.

Smoking Corn of the Cob:

Set up your smoker as usual and add some mild wood. Preheat your smoker to 225° and try your best to maintain it at 225° and no higher.

Place seasoned corn in husks onto the grill grate, close the lid, and let it smoke for 45-60 minutes.

Take the corn off the smoker, let it cool, and enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why soak the corn before smoking?

So the point in soaking certain things before putting on the grill, is to prevent it from burning. When smoking though, the temperature is low so your husks won’t burn, there are other reasons behind it.

Soaking the corn before smoking helps keep the kernels juicy and moist. Since it takes about an hour to cook, retaining that moisture will prevent them from drying out while slowly cooking.

While some people don’t bother with the soaking, it’s definitely a preference. I do notice the difference in the juiciness of the corn kernels after soaking it.

Do I have to smoke corn in the husks?

I do recommend that you smoke the corn in the husks. Corn is a pretty mild and delicate vegetable so introducing a lot of smoke flavor can be quite overwhelming. Even when you use a mild wood, too much smoke will overwhelm the taste of corn.

Keeping the husks on, but loose, will keep a lot of the excess smoke from infusing into the kernels.

Husks also help retain moisture for juicy kernels.

Another plus, it will keep the seasoning and butter on the cob better.

What wood to use for smoking corn?

Much like with other vegetables, use mild wood to smoke the corn. I prefer to use apple, maple, or pecan but you can check out other wood choices in the chart below.

How to store leftover corn:

There are a few ways you can store the leftovers. You can simply wrap them in a food storage wrap of your choice and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Another way is to cut the kernels off the cob and store the kernels in an air-tight food storage container.

Best way to reheat corn on the cob is in the oven. Wrap each cob loosely in aluminum foil and reheat for about 10 minutes, or until just reheated through, at 350°.

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