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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.

1. Reduce the liquid by half to brush onto the corn before roasting or grilling.
2. 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.

Progressive Eats Tea Party

I made this corn in celebration of the Tea Party theme of Progressive Eats. Each recipe features tea used in all sorts of delicious and unexpected ways.

Check out this line-up of tea-infused goodness, you guys!

Drinks

• Matcha Pisco by Spice Roots
• Raspberry Iced Tea Margarita by Creative Culinary

Bread

• Earl Grey Dinner Rolls by The Redhead Baker

Main Course

• Tea Smoked Duck (Gluten Free) by The Heritage Cook

Veggies/Side Dishes

• Southern Sweet Tea Roasted Corn by Pastry Chef Online (you’re here!)
• Vanilla Black Tea Rice Pilaf by All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Desserts

• Chai-infused Madeleines by Mother Would Know
• Glazed Lemon Tea Scones by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Strawberry Blueberry Hibiscus Crumble by The Wimpy Vegetarian

Everything sounds great, right? I know I can’t wait to wander through everyone’s posts and get inspired to do more cooking (and smoking!) with tea.

Need More Recipes?

If you’re digging the idea of tea grilled corn, here are some more Southern recipes you may want to try out at your next cookout:

I love my mom-style macaroni salad as a side dish to bring to barbecues. This tortellini Caprese salad is also great and super easy to make. For a vegan option, Mexican Pasta Salad wins every time.

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.

Recipe

I really hope you love this sweet tea grilled corn, you guys! If you make it, please share a photo with me, either in the PCO Facebook Group or on instagram by tagging @onlinepastrychef and using hashtag #pcorecipe. Thanks, and enjoy!

Southern Sweet Tea Roasted Corn on the Cob | Progressive Eats

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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.

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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

1. 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.
2. Preheat oven to 375F.
3. Shuck (leave some leaves on for serving) and clean corn of silk.
4. Line a pan with parchment or foil.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. To make these look pretty for a party, tie a cloth napkin around the husks for serving.
10. Enjoy hot!

Notes

The reduction is made in two stages for two different purposes.

1. Reduce the liquid by half to brush onto the corn before roasting or grilling.
2. 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

Recommended Products

• 
  Weber Charcoal Grill
• 
  Nordic Ware Half Sheet Pans (2 Pack)
• 
  Silicone Basting Brushes
• 
  Alaea Red Hawaiian Salt
• 
  Cloth Napkins (Set of 12)

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 142 Total Fat 1g Saturated Fat 0g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 1g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 567mg Carbohydrates 33g Fiber 2g Sugar 20g Protein 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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