The Easy Side Dish You Can Make While Smoking Your Ribs

While making ribs the other day, we had picked up some fresh corn on the cob from Kroger that needed to be cooked. I didn’t want to dirty another dish or heat up the kitchen—it’s hot here in Texas this summer!

So I thought, why not smoke the corn right alongside the ribs?

And that’s exactly what we did!

The smoker was already going, so why not put it to work and cook our side dish at the same time? The corn turned out buttery, smoky, and seasoned with just the right amount of Cajun flavor.

It’s one of those recipes that makes you wonder why you weren’t doing it this way all along.

🌽 Ingredients

• Fresh corn on the cob
• Butter
• Cajun seasoning, or your favorite seasoning blend

Preparing the Corn

The first thing I did was pull the husks back from the corn—but I did NOT remove them.

Once the husks were pulled back, I removed all of the corn silk.

Don’t Skip This Step If Your Husks Are Dry!

If your corn husks are still green and naturally moist, you can move on to the next step.

However, if the husks have dried out and aren’t green and moist anymore, soak the corn in water before putting it on the smoker. This helps keep the husks from getting too dry while the corn cooks.

While the corn is soaking, melt your butter and mix in your Cajun seasoning.

I didn’t measure this exactly. I simply melted enough butter to coat the corn and added enough Cajun seasoning to give it plenty of flavor.

You can absolutely adjust the seasoning to your taste. Cajun seasoning is my favorite, but you can use whatever seasoning you love.

🧈 Butter It Up!

Once the corn is ready, use a basting brush to thoroughly coat the corn with the melted seasoned butter.

Make sure you get the butter mixture all over those kernels!

Then simply pull the husks back over the corn.

You don’t have to completely close or tie the husks. Just pull them back over the corn as best you can.

🔥 Onto the Smoker

Set your smoker to 225°F.

I placed the corn on the top rack of the smoker, away from the fire and direct heat.

Since we were already smoking ribs, the corn was able to cook right alongside them without taking up any extra space in the kitchen.

Smoke the corn for approximately 1 to 1½ hours, or until the kernels are tender.

Cooking time can vary depending on the size and freshness of your corn and how your smoker cooks.

Once it’s done, carefully remove the corn from the smoker. The husks will be hot!

Let it cool for a few minutes before pulling the husks completely back.

Then serve it with a little extra butter and Cajun seasoning if you want.

🌽 Smoked Corn on the Cob

Ingredients

• Corn on the cob
• Butter
• Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning, or seasoning of your choice

Directions

1. Prepare your smoker to 225°F.
2. Pull the husks back from the corn, but do not remove them.
3. Remove all of the corn silk.
4. If the husks are dry and no longer green/moist, soak the corn in water before smoking.
5. Melt butter and mix with Cajun seasoning.
6. Use a basting brush to thoroughly coat the corn with the seasoned butter.
7. Pull the husks back over the corn.
8. Place the corn on the top rack of the smoker, away from the fire and direct heat.
9. Smoke at 225°F for approximately 1 to 1½ hours, or until tender.
10. Carefully remove from the smoker and allow to cool slightly.
11. Pull back the husks, add additional butter or seasoning if desired, and serve!

💡 Hey! I Can Do That! Tip

If you’re already smoking meat, let the smoker do double duty!

There’s no reason to turn on the stove and heat up the kitchen when you can cook your side dish right alongside your ribs.

This is one of my favorite kinds of recipes—easy, hardly any cleanup, and you’re already cooking anyway!