Campfire Corn On The Cob: How To Grill Sweet Corn Over The Campfire

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5 Easy Steps For Cooking Corn On A Campfire

You’ll be eating campfire corn all summer long if you try this easy technique for grilling sweet corn in the husk!

There are five simple steps to roasting corn over a campfire or a charcoal grill.

Step 1: Remove silk.

Pull back the husks enough to get all of the annoying threads out of there. Otherwise you will be flossing your teeth at the same time you are eating the corn. LOL

Step 2: Soak in water.

Fold the husks back around the corn and soak them in cold water for about 30 minutes. You want the corn to steam inside the husks before the husks dry out and begin to burn.

The size of the crowd you are feeding and the number of ears of corn you need to soak will determine the container bucket size necessary for soaking.

Step 3: Grill on medium.

Drain excess water before grilling, then, place ears in a single layer over medium heat.

Campfire cooking is the tricky part. I like to cook in a big fire ring so that I can keep a fire going on one side of the ring while I drag a few hot coals under my cooking rack.

Don’t put open flames under your corn … just hot campfire coals.

Push coals to side of grill to reduce heat, push hot embers directly under grill to increase heat.

You want those little beauties to roast nicely with dark brown spots of charred corn … not turn into flares and smoke signals!

How long to cook corn on campfires?

Use tongs to turn the corn about every 5 minutes or so, they are done when tender which will take about 30 minutes but keep checking tenderness throughout your cooking time because time will vary with each campfire.

If you are camping in a location that already has grates set up to cook over campfires, that’s great! If you are camping in a remote area without campfire grates and grill racks, you may have to bring your own campfire cooking equipment like we do.

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Step 4: Pull back husks.

Step 5: Slather with basil butter.

Yep … I said basil butter! It is sooooooooooo much tastier than regular butter and I have a super-simple recipe that you can make at the campsite or at home.

You can even make it in advance and freeze it until ready to use!

Camp Cooking Tip: Do not use room temperature butter on your whole ears of corn. You can cover corn with a nice even layer when your butter is hard and cold. When you rub butter over hot corn, it melts quickly, creates an evenly buttered cob and is not super messy.

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How Much Firewood To Bring

You may want to only cook one meal with firewood or you may want to create every meal over an open flame. You may also want to lounge around a fire throughout the day and into the evening. So, how do you calculate the amount of wood you’ll need? We have an entire post dedicated to help you answer the question: How much firewood do I need for camping?

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Alternatives To Campfire Cooking

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How To Make Corn On The Cob While Camping Without Fire

Making corn on campfires is just one way to prepare camping corn on the cob. But, what if you are camping without fire due to fire restrictions and you can’t have fires or use charcoal?

You can use your camping propane with a portable camp stove or RV stove and just boil the corn. Here’s how to cook corn while camping using propane as the heat source …

• Bring a big pot of water to boil, drop in the peeled corn on the cob, cover the pot and bring it back up to a boil. 
• The corn will be tender in approximately 5-7 minutes.
• Need more camp stove recipes? We’ve got them!

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Leftovers

A delicious way to use leftover corn is to sprinkle it into salads, the smoky flavor adds so much to recipes.

I like making simple mayo-based dips with leftover roasted corn and serving it with tortilla chips or crackers. Try combining equal parts of mayonnaise and sour cream as a base. Then add shredded cheddar or cotija cheese. Mix in a bit of salsa, spicy peppers or creole seasoning for a little kick. I like adding herbs like fresh cilantro or chives if I have them on hand. And, you can’t go wrong adding a handful of crumbled bacon too. Just mix it all together in a bowl with the charred corn and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

How to remove corn kernels from cob:

1. Remove outer husks from cob.
2. Place small bowl upside-down in the bottom of a large bowl.
3. Place corn on the small bowl (bottom of the ears should be set on the flat part of the small bowl).
4. Starting at the top of the ear, use a sharp paring knife to slice downward to cut the kernels off of the cob. The large bowl with catch the falling kernels.
5. ​Work your way around the cob to remove all of the kernels.
6. Turn the knife so the dull edge is against the cob and scrape the sweet milk from the cob into the bowl with the kernels.

This Southwest Camping Salad is a popular 5-star recipe that calls for frozen corn to make it simple, but, you can use leftovers from your grilled corn cobs for even more flavor. It’s a great option if you’re looking for delicious gluten free camping food!

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Pairings

If husked corn alone is not enough of a meal in itself, serve it as a side dish and try some new recipes on your campout.

• The great part about roasting corn over fire is having the perfect side dish to serve with a main dish made in a Dutch oven like these yummy Dutch Oven BBQ Ribs.
• Burgers and hot dogs are standard backyard bbq menu items but they can get boring. If you’re feeling for ground beef, try these Big Mac Sloppy Joes, it’s a huge step up from the traditional loose meat sandwich.
• If you’re not afraid of a little spicy pepper taste, try this Diablo Sandwich that was inspired by the 1977 comedy/action classic movie Smokey and the Bandit starring Jackie Gleason and Burt Reynolds.
• In this Dutch Oven Lemon Chicken, the chicken skin is crisped in a few tablespoons olive oil then the flavors are added with garlic, onion, fresh rosemary, lemon and chicken broth in one of my favorite one pot camping meals.
• The slightly sweet and salty flavors are unique to these super-tender Dutch Oven Pork Chops.
• Cold salads are perfect in the heat of the summer. This Refrigerator Cucumber Salad can be made at the campsite or at home. The flavors need to marry for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator. It’s like eating summer in a bowl!

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