It is ribs time! These flavoursome and tender corn ribs can be made in only 30 minutes and they are such fun to eat. You can enjoy them as a snack, as a side dish or as an appetizer. Serve them with a light yoghurt-chili dip at a summer BBQ or picnic. So finger-licking-good.
Corn ribs got their name from their looks and their shape. After you cut the corn on the cob, lengthways, into quarters and bake or grill them, they resemble a spare rib shape. Wink. Besides spare ribs, this is another example where you can, or better said you should, use your hands while eating. Yey, that’s much more fun.
Also, they are a great alternative to spare ribs, when you try to cut down on meat. But at the same time, they pair wonderfully with meat, too. Wink.
Corn on the cob
When I was little, we often went into the corn fields and looked for the first ears of corn. These are tender and light in colour and they are still wrapped in the green husk. So, we had to peel those leaves off and also, we had to remove that “corn beard” or “corn hair”. Well, officially it is called corn silk. Wink. But in this case, it is easy to pull away. We always threw the whole ear of corn on a grill and then brushed it, almost soaked it, with butter. So good and a mess when eating it. Ha ha.
However, now we are all adults and that can not happen again. Sure it can. It just makes a lot of fun. You also have fun eating pizza with your hands, right? As delicious as corn ribs can get, I love to serve them with a fresh and light dip. For instance, plain or Greek yogurt combined with herbs and spices can’t be wrong. Here I added fresh coriander and chili flakes.
For more recipes where eating with your hands is essential, check these out: classic bbq spare ribs, a healthy homemade pizza, a rich pumpkin chicken burger, a delicious persimmon cheese Flammkuchen or these Brussels sprouts bacon skewers.
How to safely cut the corn on the cob
Cutting corn on the cob can be very challenging. Firstly, half the cob vertically, in order to avoid squashing the kernels and to prevent the cob from rolling away from the table while you cut. You can cut the ends of the cob, as well, to have a flat base.
Secondly, cutting pre-cooked or steamed corn on the cob is way easier than cutting through a raw cob core. You can boil the corn cobs for 7-10 minutes which will make the core softer.
Ingredients for 16 corn ribs:
- 4 corn on the cob (pre-cooked)
- a pinch of salt
- 20ml olive oil or melted butter
- 1 TBsp of soy sauce
- 150 g plain yogurt
- 2 stems of fresh coriander
- chili flakes to taste
To begin, place one corn on the cob vertically in front of you and carefully cut through the core, by rocking your knife back and forth. This time, lay the two halves, cut side down, onto the cutting board and again, cut through the core in half. Do the same with all of the cobs, making a total of 16 ribs.
Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, place the corn ribs, cut side down, on the baking sheet. In a small bowl, stir soy sauce and olive oil or melted butter and apply it on each corn piece, using a brush.
Place the baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 25-30 minutes. Afterwards, turn on the grill mode, place the baking sheet on the upper rack and broil for 5 minutes.
Finally, arrange the hot corn ribs onto a plate together with a yogurt-chili and coriander dip. Sprinkle them with some salt, chopped coriander and with chili flakes as well.
Enjoy.
