Summer Sides & BBQ Pairings

Summer means BBQ, and BBQs need a solid roster of sides to accompany them! What better way to prepare a BBQ side than on the BBQ itself. This corn salad does exactly this to match the smoky BBQ falvour, while giving some vibrant taste to match!

BBQ meats tend to be quite heavily seasoned and flavoured. Marinades and sauces tend to be relatively sweet, to provide sugar for caramelisation. As a result, it’s important that a side balances this out to give a good balance on a plate. A side should lean towards fresh and herby flavours for balance, with a good note of acidity to cut through the strong flavours of the meats. This is exactly what I have sought to do here to craft the perfect side!

Corn for BBQs

In my opinion, corn is an ideal vegetable accompaniment for a BBQ. It’s already a popular vegetarian option to chuck onto the grill, and takes little work to liven it up. It has a lot of natural sweetness, which really comes out with high heat cooking. Corn also requires enough cooking time to get some char going!

I have taken inspiration from the mexican dish elote for this. Elote features grilled corn cobs with a creamy, sour cream based sauce. This is then heightened with lime, garlic, chilli powder and cojita cheese. Check out this Kenji J. Lopez-Alt recipe on Serious Eats if interested! I have used feta cheese instead, with a similar flavour profile, and taken the corn off the cob. This allows me to turn it into more of a slaw or almost a salsa. Finally, I have added a load of fresh herbs to liven it up!

Cooking the Corn

I like to put the corn on the grill last. This usually means the grill temperature has dropped a little bit to a medium high. This means you can cook the corn through and char it without it burning. Put the cobs on and turn them every 3 to 5 minutes to ensure even cooking and charring.

BBQ Grilled Corn, Feta and Chilli Salad

5 from 1 vote

A light, vibrant and truly delicious BBQ side for the summer. Bringing smoky, tangy, herby & citrus flavours along with plenty of colour, this salad is a must!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 People

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, BBQ, Mexican, South American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 cobs Corn
• 120 g Feta
• 1 Red Chilli
• 1 Lime
• 2 Shallots
• 1 handful Fresh Coriander Leaves
• 1 handful Fresh Mint Leaves

Method

 

1. Place the corn cobs onto the BBQ on a medium high heat. Turn every 3-5 minutes, ensuring they are charring.
2. Finely dice your shallot and chilli and add to a bowl.
3. Remove your corn from the grill and cut the kernels away from the cob. Add to the bowl.
4. Chop your fresh herbs and crumble your feta. Add both to the bowl.
5. Juice the lime and pour the juice over the salad. Season with salt and pepper.