JUNE/JULY 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 7Cuke and Onion Salad
Is it a pickle? Is it a salad? No matter—this side
belongs in your barbecue spread. by Morgan Bolling
It takes a sweet touch
to bring out corn’s full
potential. by Cecelia Jenkins
FRESH CORN ON the cob, shucked,
boiled, and buttered, is a summertime
treasure. But with enough repetition,
even treasures can become a little tired.
I wanted to create a simple, easy recipe
that added pizzazz to summer corn by
enhancing its fresh, sweet fl avor.
I started by stripping the kernels
from six cobs of freshly husked corn.
The best method was to cut the husked
cobs in half crosswise and then stand
the halves on their stable, fl at cut sides
before cutting off the kernels with
downward strokes of a sharp knife.
The six ears gave me about 4½ cups of
fresh, sweet kernels to work with.
One simple way to enrich corn’s
fl avor is to brown it, so I dumped the
kernels into a stainless-steel skillet with
a little vegetable oil. After about 9 min-
utes over medium-high heat (with a bit
of stirring), the corn was tender and
had loads of fl avorful browning. The
bottom of my skillet, however, was hard
to clean; I found that it was best to use
nonstick (or cast iron) instead.
To highlight the sweet, nutty fl avor
even more, I melted 3 tablespoons
of butter into the hot kernels, which
gave each little nub a rich, glistening
coating. Some fresh thyme provided its
signature fragrance and gave the corn
a savory anchor. Finally, just a bit of a
surprising ingredient—honey—brought
the dish together by gently accentuat-
ing the corn’s sweetness.HONEY BUTTER CORN
Serves 4
We prefer fresh corn in this recipe, but
you can substitute 4½ cups of thawed
frozen corn, if desired.2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs
(4½ cups)
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter,
cut into 3 pieces
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves- Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet
over medium-high heat until shim-
mering. Add corn, salt, and pepper and
cook, stirring occasionally, until tender
and spotty brown, 8 to 10 minutes. - Off heat, stir in butter, honey, and
thyme until butter is melted and mixture
is combined, about 30 seconds. Serve.
MISO HONEY BUTTER CORN
Decrease honey to 1 tablespoon.
Substitute 2 scallions, sliced thin on
bias, for thyme. Add 1 tablespoon
white miso and 1 teaspoon soy sauce
with butter in step 2.MY GRANDMOTHER USED to
throw together thinly sliced cucum-
bers and onions in a tangy-sweet
dressing to create harmony on our
summer table. It’s not that the table
was in disharmony, but the rich
Southern main dishes we commonly
enjoyed—succulent pulled pork,
crunchy fried chicken—needed a
bright side dish to balance things
out. This simple, refreshing combi-
nation of cucumbers and onions was
just the ticket.
I’m pretty sure my grandmother
didn’t follow a recipe for this dish.
I’ve tried to re-create her version
many times, but my attempts have
never come out exactly right (either
too pickled or too sweet). I wanted
to develop a formula so I could get
it right every time. For inspiration, I
made fi ve existing recipes from a mix
of Southern sources. Our favorite ver-
sion combined peeled cucumbers with
thinly sliced onion in a pungent dress-
ing of apple cider vinegar and sugar.
The dressing was too assertive and
sharp, so I tamed it by adding ¼ cup
of water. As for the cukes, I tested reg-
ular cucumbers, English cucumbers,
and smaller pickling cucumbers. The
pickling cucumbers were hard to track
down without going to a specialty
grocer or farm stand. The English
cucumbers worked fi ne, but our top
choice was regular cucumbers; my
tasters preferred their ultracrunchy
texture. Peeling the cukes eliminated
any bitter taste.
I assumed sweet, Georgia-born
Vidalia onions would be the right
choice here. But in a side-by-side
test, tasters couldn’t tell the dif-
ference between sweet and regular
yellow onions once the salad was
dressed. Not having to call for a
specialty onion was good news.
My grandmother always told me
this dish got better as it sat, so I refrig-
erated a batch for a few hours before
serving. As I expected, she was correct;
the fl avors came together and the veg-
etables softened just enough. Time to
fi re up the grill for that pulled pork.PICKLED CUCUMBER
AND ONION SALAD
Serves 4 to 6
This recipe can easily be doubled.½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 pound cucumbers, peeled, halved
lengthwise, and sliced 1⁄8 inch thick
(about 3 cups)
1 cup thinly sliced onionWhisk vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and
pepper together in medium bowl.
Add cucumbers and onion and toss to
combine. Cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow
fl avors to meld. Use slotted spoon to
serve. (Salad can be refrigerated in
airtight container for up to 3 days.)Honey
Butter^
Corn
Proper Browning
To ensure the best fl avor, make sure the
corn gets good and browned—like this—by
the end of step 1.