My old gas grill gave up the ghost and I bought a new one the other day, another Weber. It’s not got all the fancy gizmos and gadgets but it’s solidly built and since my old low-end Weber gas grill lasted 11 years outside with no cover and year-round use, I was inclined to go that route again.   I couldn’t resist the Weber’s Real Grilling book they had conveniently sitting next to the new grills!

The new grill has 3 burners instead of 2, making it much easier to do the indirect cooking. I tried it out with some chicken leg quarters the other night, which had been marinated in my favorite chicken marinade, and they came out superb!

In addition to good tips and general advice, the book is filled with recipes and with a picture of each one for those visual types.  I tried the artichokes, which were a bit disappointing. Call me boring but all I need to do with artichokes is trim ‘em, simmer ‘em, drain ‘em, and serve with a bit of mayonnaise mixed with lemon juice.

The corn on the cob recipe however is to die for!  I cheated a bit, because I hate husking corn. So I microwaved the corn a few minutes first, which makes the husking oh so easy. Then I spread their flavored butter on:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic

Now, I only have granulated garlic on hand because a client gave me a gift pack from Penzey’s with some. I’ll just use fresh minced garlic once I run out.

Anyway mix all this together with a fork, then spread half of it on 4 ears of husked corn. If you don’t cheat and start with raw corn, grill over medium heat 10 – 15 minutes, turning now and then. If you cheat like me and microwaved the corn a bit to make the husking easy, grill until done.   I probably microwaved about 4 minutes, let them sit and steam a bit, then grilled another 5-8  minutes.

Serve with the remaining butter.

Good fresh corn is good totally plain, of course. Simmer it or microwave it or barbecue it. But this cheese and herb butter really adds a nice touch. I will definitely be doing this again!