Bacon-Wrapped Corn On The Cob Is The Ultimate Flavor Upgrade

Bacon tastes so good that it makes almost any dish better. Put it between two pieces of buttery grilled bread, add some fried eggs, and some sharp-tasting cheese, and you've got a breakfast sandwich to start your day. Follow that up with a bacon-topped cheeseburger for lunch or dinner. Keep the theme going with the salty and sweet midnight snack of chocolate-covered bacon. The point is: Bacon tastes good any time of the day and with so many different foods. But have you ever tried wrapping it around corn on the cob?

It's easy to do. Just cover your corn on the cob with fresh strips of bacon, wrap it all up in aluminum foil, then grill it to perfection on the barbecue. Just like that, you'll be treated to a delicious, crunchy, sweet, smoky, and salty dish you can enjoy as a snack or side. Sweet and juicy corn on the cob (fresh and in-season is best) works perfectly well with the crispy, smoky bacon.

When you eat fresh, grilled corn on the cob, the flavor profile should be mild to moderately sweet. This is why it works with salty, smoky bacon, as those flavors traditionally complement each other well. When you make grilled corn on the cob wrapped with bacon, the delicate flavors of the corn will take on some of those rich, fatty bacon flavors, adding layers of balanced complexity. It also works texture-wise, since bacon is crispy and grilled corn on the cob is juicy.

Before you wrap the corn on the cob in bacon, you can season it with other flavors. Try rubbing it with garlic butter dotted with freshly chopped herbs like parsley or chives. Or maybe spice things up with a fiery Cajun dried seasoning blend. If you like a lot of fire, try making sriracha butter to slather on underneath the bacon.

Since corn is already sweet, you might not think to add more of the same flavors. But it works very well. A simple way to do this is to add sweet and tangy barbecue sauce — your favorite store-bought brand will work just fine (or whip up an easy homemade barbecue sauce). Or, simply brush the corn with your go-to sweet chili sauce then envelop it with bacon before grilling.

If you're looking for ways to use a batch of honey butter you've already made, this is your chance. First, add some heat to it with powdered cayenne, then coat your corn on the cob with the spicy honey butter before wrapping it in bacon and grilling. This combination of sweet and spicy with the salty bacon is a must-try. All that said, bacon alone can still be the ultimate flavor upgrade for grilled corn on the cob (and so many other things) so feel free to keep it simple.