Grilled Corn Salsa

This grilled corn salsa is a simple and easy to make snack that can be used in a variety of recipes.  In this recipe we use some charred corn and brighten it up with the acidity of some lime and tomatoes to produce a mouth-watering salsa that’ll have you ‘dipping’ back for more.

Corn of any sort will do, but in this recipe we will be using sweet bicolor corn.  This helps give the grilled corn salsa a little bit more color and pop.  Prefer husked corn over unhusked corn as it helps keep the kernel from getting bent out of shape while at the market or grocery store.  When removing the husks, use a brush to also remove the fibers that come along for the ride.

Melted butter can be used instead of olive oil, which will provide a little bit for flavor for a few more calories. Either one will work fine, but the important part is to coat each corn cob throughly so that any added seasonings will stick to the corn and not fall off during the grilling process. In addition to salt and pepper, garlic powder, cumin and thyme are other seasonings that will produce excellent results.

Once the corn has been fully coated with seasonings it’s time to fire up the grill. A medium heat source is sufficient and if you’re using charcoal you won’t want to waste too much since the corn doesn’t take long to cook. Place the corn directly over the heat source and pack them tightly next to one another. Turn the corn about one quarter of a full rotation every 4 to 6 minutes. Keeping the corn cob close together will aid in preventing them from rolling around too much on the grill.  You will know it’s time to turn when the kernels start to brown and darken in color.  Once the corn is evenly browned take them off the grill to let them cool and start prepping the rest of the vegetables.

Dice the tomatoes and onions and chop up the cilantro. I prefer to use cherry tomatoes for a recipe like this so that you can get as much/little tomatoes as you want in your recipe.  Chop them up as you go and you can stop whenever you feel you’ve reached the right ratio.  Once the veggies have been chopped, cut the kernel off of the cobs by sliding a sharp knife from the base of the cob to the tip.

Add corn, tomatoes, onions, cheese and cilantro to bowl and mix well. Add salt, pepper and lime juice to taste and then mix again.  Top with cotija chese and serve with tortilla chips

If you have any leftover corn it can be used in soups, stews, tacos and salads.