Y’all. Have you been outside today?! It’s mother-flippin’ hot out there. Apparently while we were off galivanting around Alaska, Texas decided to flip the switch into full-blown-summer.
There is one consolation prize that Mother Nature gives us for this balls-hot weather. And that’s that a whole bunch of yummy things are ripening up around central Texas right now, like sweet corn and Texas peaches.
So even though it meant braving the heat, and standing in front of an EVEN HOTTER grill, last night we enoyed a delicious meal of grilled shrimp, corn, and peaches.
Got grill-timidation? No worries. These are some of the easiest things you can grill.
Let’s start with the corn. Peel back all the husks down to the base, but don’t pull them off. Keep peeling them back, layer by layer, until you get to the thread. Pick the thread off and discard, then give your corn a good lather of butter, salt, and pepper. Then peel all the husks back into place.
Your corn is now ready for the grill. Over a medium-hot heat, place the husks directly on the grate. The flames should stop just before touching the corn itself…if it’s any higher, turn down your heat a bit, or move the corn to a slightly higher rack. Let the corn cook with the grill top down, turning them every 3-4 minutes for about 10-12 minutes total. Keep a spray bottle of water handy, just in case any dried-up husks start to feel frisky.
While the corn is cooking, you can prepare the shrimp. Leave them in their shells, and give them a quick toss in an oil-based marinade. I like Zesty Italian dressing for this purpose, as it gives a nice flavor to the shrimp. Then, skewer the shrimp on metal skewers (you can use wood skewers too, but you just need to soak these in water for ~10 minutes first) and throw them on a middle rack or slightly cooler area of the grill.
The shrimp will need about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the size of your shrimp. You’ll know they’re done when they turn from gray/translucent to a bright pink.
Finally, the peaches. These are the easiest of all. Halve and core your ripe peaches – they should feel slightly soft to the touch before they’re “grill-ready”. Microwave a tbsp of butter for 10 seconds in order to melt it, then brush it on the cut side, and sprinkle with a dash of salt and a little brown sugar.
Start the peaches cut-side up for about 2 minutes on a hot side of the grill, then turn them over and let them cook for another 1-2 minutes with the fruit directly on the grate.
That’s it! If you cook things concurrently, your whole dinner will be ready in less than 10 minutes time, and will be so delicious you’ll want to repeat it all summer long.
Photo credit to Flickr user Mike McCune (who actually remembered to take pictures of his food before eating it, unlike me) under a creative commons license.
