This post is all about the “tea party,” or recipes that contain tea. My contribution is this southern sweet tea roasted corn, and it is Super Delicious. As a bonus, you can also make this on the grill. Tea grilled corn will be the hit of your cookout!
Southerners are known for loving our sweet tea, and sweet tea is the perfect, thirst-quenching soft beverage to serve at a cookout. I figured brushing the corn with a sweet tea reduction would be a great way to add that Southern flavor, and I was right!
If you’re in the mood for more corn recipes, give my spicy deviled corn or spicy succotash a try as well.
Whether you decide to roast or grill, consider making this for your next cookout or barbecue. Enjoy!
For ease of browsing, here are all of my side dish recipes in one place. Thanks so much for visiting.
Adding Flavor with Reductions
A “reduction” is one of those cooking terms that can seem a little intimidating. I know I used to be intimidated before I learned how easy they were to make.
A reduction is a sauce or glaze whose volume has been reduced through boiling or simmering. As you boil the liquid, flavor concentrates, sugars caramelize, and water evaporates.
This leaves you with an intense sauce with lots of body and flavor at the cost of just a few minutes of watching a pot boil.
To make my tea roasted corn, I made a quick reduction of tea, sugar and a touch of soy sauce to balance out the sweetness and to tame any bitterness that would come from reducing tea and concentrating the tannins.
Two-Stage Reduction for Tea Roasted Corn
The reduction is made in two stages for two different purposes.
- Reduce the liquid by half to brush onto the corn before roasting or grilling.
- Reduce the glaze you have remaining after brushing the corn by about half again to end up with a thick glaze to brush on for serving.
I made the reduction in two stages because I didn’t want the sugars to be too concentrated before grilling or roasting.
If the glaze were too intensely sugary at the outset, it would’ve burned before the corn finished cooking.
The second stage was to make sure the reduction was thick enough to cling to the corn once it finished cooking. It’s like waiting until the last minutes of cooking ribs before adding barbecue sauce and then serving additional sauce on the side. Except with roasted corn.
Serving Suggestions
This corn makes a great side dish for a burger. Go old-school with my smashed bacon double cheeseburgers or head off the beaten path and make the roasted corn as a side for my ultimate gordita burgers.
Make this corn as a part of a traditional Southern meat and three.
I love my mom-style macaroni salad would also be appropriate as would this tortellini Caprese salad or Mexican Pasta Salad if you need a vegan option.
And for dessert, you can’t beat a sonker (a North Carolina cobbler). Try strawberry peach sonker or this blackberry cherry sonker.
And now, on to the Sweet Tea Roasted Corn. You guys are really going to enjoy it.
Southern Sweet Tea Roasted Corn
An easy-to-make, 3-ingredient glaze is all you need to up the flavor in your corn on the cob. Make these on the grill or in the oven.
I roasted mine at 375F for 25 minutes, turning once. Let me show you how easy these guys are to make.
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Southern Sweet Tea Roasted Corn on the Cob | Progressive Eats
This Southern Sweet Tea Roasted Corn tastes just like summer in the south. Easy to make and even easier to eat, add some extra "southern" to your next picnic or tailgating!
Instructions for making the corn on the grill are in the Notes at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients
For the Glaze
- 1 cup strong brewed black tea, (I used large 1 Luzianne teabag steeped in 1 cup of boiling water for 5 minutes)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
For the Corn
- 4 ears sweet corn on the cob
- kosher, (or other) salt, to taste (I used Hawaiian red salt)
Instructions
For the Glaze
- Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. (I did this by weight. The ingredients weighed 10.5 oz, so I reduced until I had right around 5 oz of liquid). Cool to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Shuck (leave some leaves on for serving) and clean corn of silk.
- Line a pan with parchment or foil.
- Brush the ears of corn all over with the glaze and season all over with kosher (or other) salt. Place on the baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, reduce the remaining glaze down to a very thick syrup. Be careful, because it can burn wihen the sugars get really concentrated. You're looking for about the consistency of sweetened condensed milk.
- Take the corn out of the oven, brush any glaze that has run onto the pan back onto the corn. Turn the ears over and continue roasting for another 15 minutes. You may need to cover the loose leaves (if you left any) with some foil to prevent them from burning.
- Once the corn is finished, brush each ear with some of the thickened glaze and sprinkle with kosher salt or finishing salt of your choice.
- To make these look pretty for a party, tie a cloth napkin around the husks for serving.
- Enjoy hot!
Notes
The reduction is made in two stages for two different purposes.
- Reduce the liquid by half to brush onto the corn before roasting or grilling.
- Reduce the glaze you have remaining after brushing the corn by about half again to end up with a thick glaze to brush on for serving.
To Grill the Corn
Prepare the tea reduction and shuck the corn as described in the recipe.
Set your grill with coals on one side. You'll be grilling over the cooler side.
Brush the ears with the glaze and grill over indirect heat, turning occasionally with tongs, until corn has taken on a bit of golden brown color.
If you leave some of the leaves on the corn, make sure to position the ears so the husks/leaves stick out over the edge of the grill so they do not catch on fire. You'll also be able to grab the ears by these leaves to turn them rather than using tongs.
Remove from the grill, brush with the second glaze reduction, and serve hot with salt
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 142Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 567mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 2gSugar 20gProtein 3g
The stated nutritional information is provided as a courtesy. It is calculated through third party software and is intended as a guideline only.
And there you have it, you guys. Southern Sweet Tea Roasted Corn. It might become your new favorite! Extra good news? The flavor is so good, you may decide it doesn’t need butter. But I won’t tell if you decide to use some anyway. Enjoy!
Thanks for spending some time with me today, friends. Take care, and have a lovely day.
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susan | the wimpy vegetarian says
What a fabulous way to use tea. I was so interested in this from the moment I saw your title yesterday. LOVE this!
Jennifer Field says
Thank you, Susan! I had a vague idea about using “some sort of vegetables” with “some sort of tea glaze,” but when I saw the corn in the store, I knew exactly what I was going to do!
Ansh says
How cute is your website!! And GORGEOUS photos!! And I want that corn!!
Jennifer Field says
Thank you, Anshie! I love it–Charissa did a wonderful job on the site! Plus: I took the photos on a super rainy, dreary day, which is my favorite. 🙂 And: delicious. It seriously is really good. Would probably be good using other veggies as well. I am so happy to be back doing PE again–I missed you!
Barb says
As is typical of the land where I live; it is now raining with a forecast of it turning to snow, so reading about a summer dish helps me to remember that a day like this is fleeting and warmth will return again soon along with barbecues and delicious corn on the cob.
What a great southern combination…and even better? EASY!! I can’t try it for awhile; corn in Colorado isn’t worth buying until mid summer, but I can imagine a lazy evening with corn and sweet tea and nothing else for dinner. Heaven.
Jennifer Field says
Yes, don’t forget warm days in the midst of the snow! This recipe will be waiting for you when the Colorado corn is at its peak. Enjoy! 🙂
Jane, The Heritage Cook says
What a great new way to enjoy corn on the cob Jenni! I cannot wait to try this with your sweet tea and soy sauce! The flavor must be incredible. So glad your site is back up and running again – and beautiful new design! Brava my friend!!
Jennifer Field says
I hate that the outage and the new design sort of dovetailed. One didn’t have anything to do with the other. Just bad timing. But I love my new look and am so happy to be up and running again! And eating corn! Enjoy, Jane! xo
Rodrigo says
My grandma used to make corn roasted on the fire with cane syrup. Interesting your process, the tea should add a very particular flavor. Looks delicious and reminds my childhood. Tx
Jennifer Field says
I bet it has a bit of a similar flavor, Rodrigo. I even debated adding a splash of molasses–I bet that would be even closer to your grandma’s roasted corn. So glad I could bring back good memories for you! If you try this, do let me know how it compare’s to what you remember growing up. 🙂
Liz says
We love corn on the cob and your tea glaze is a yummy way to shake up our plain ol’ butter routine!! Your blog looks fabulous!!!
Jennifer Field says
Thank you, Liz! I’m so happy with my site. 🙂 I hope you love the corn!
[email protected] says
As soon as I can get my hands on some really good corn, I’m making this! What a simple and delicious way to amp up the flavor.
Jennifer Field says
I think you’ll really like it–I was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked, Laura! Enjoy! 🙂