Grilled Corn Relish Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated August 30, 2018
20110607-155551-roasted-corn-relish.jpg

In my Sauced column, I just tried my hand at making my first sweet cucumber relish, which left my brain swarming with other relish ideas. Given all the ingredients in this roasted corn relish, it should really only be loosely defined as a "relish."

I gave as many ingredients as possible the grilled treatment, taking buttered and seasoned corn, green onions, a jalapeño, and a red pepper to the flames. Once all nicely browned, they were chopped and combined with cilantro, lime zest, chili powder, and cumin, followed by lime juice and a little sugar.

I loved how it all came together. The first taste was of sweet and tangy corn, but the sweetness slowly faded, giving way to the heat from the jalapeño and an earthiness from the chili powder and cumin.

The "relish" can double as a dip for tortilla chips, salad topping, or taco condiment—it'll add excellent flavor to whatever it touches.

Recipe Details

Grilled Corn Relish Recipe

Active 45 mins
Total 60 mins
Serves 8 servings
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 3 ears corn, husked

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  • 1 jalapeño

  • 1 medium red pepper

  • 6 green onions

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

  • 1 teaspoon lime zest

  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin

  • Kosher salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Light one chimney full of charcoal. While the charcoal is lighting, lightly butter each ear of corn, then season with salt and pepper. Wrap each ear in aluminum foil.

  2. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of coal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place the corn, red pepper, and jalapeño on the grill and cover. Grill red pepper and jalapeño until they start to blister, but not blacken, on each side. Grill corn until it’s lightly charred all over. Remove pepper, jalapeño, and corn to a cutting board as they are done.

  3. Brush green onions lightly with oil and place on the grill. Cook until softened and lightly browned on both sides. Remove to cutting board.

  4. In a medium bowl, cut kernels off each ear of corn. Seed jalapeño and red pepper, then dice and add into bowl with corn. Thinly slice green onions and add into bowl with corn and peppers along with cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, sugar, chili powder, and cumin. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Special Equipment

Grill

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
62Calories
2gFat
11gCarbs
2gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories62
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g3%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Cholesterol 4mg1%
Sodium 302mg13%
Total Carbohydrate 11g4%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 37mg184%
Calcium 15mg1%
Iron 1mg3%
Potassium 163mg3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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