Cooking With This Beer When Corn Is Involved Is A Huge No-Go — Here's Why

Beer-soaked corn is a must-bring side dish for your next backyard barbecue which is sure to turn some heads with juicy, tender kernels and an unexpected flavor twist. The type of beer you use when you're cooking corn matters, though. In an interview with The Takeout, chef Todd Garrigan of Lillian's Petite Market & Eatery in Charleston explained how beer takes corn to the next level and helps create restaurant-level texture. He also mentioned which brews to choose and which to stay away from. " As long as you avoid hoppy beer, it can give the corn a juicier finish," Garrigan said. "Hoppy beer tends to get very bitter."

Pilsners, IPAs, and other pale ales are among the most popular beers made with hops, but not all hoppy beers are bitter-tasting. Modern brewers have adjusted their process to create hop-heavy blends that aren't bitter at all. Even still, the natural bitterness of hops gets concentrated when cooked down so it's best to avoid these brews altogether. The boldness of the hops will overwhelm the lighter flavor profile of the corn, amplifying that bitterness even more. Choose a beer brewed with fewer hops and you'll get a much better result. "Lighter beers with butter and herbs can be used to get a bright, juicy boiled (or) baked corn," Garrigan said.

Beer is a great addition to any classic corn recipe, and there are quite a few ways combine the two. Add a bottle of your favorite brew to the water while husked corn cobs boil on the stove, put 2 tablespoons in with aluminum-sealed corn to cook on the grill, or poach corn in beer and then grill it up. You can also marinate corn in beer for anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight to saturate every kernel with flavor before moving on to whatever cooking method you prefer.

Combine beer with a multitude of ways to cook corn on the cob to make it even more delicious by matching the flavor profiles of the ingredients. Make elotes (Mexican corn on the cob and summer's perfect dish) even tastier with Corona-infused corn or use Stella Artois to turn up the flavor on oven-baked corn. A lemon shandy infuses citrus notes into a shrimp and corn boil, Blue Moon makes a great marinade for street corn, and a Hefeweizen-infused compound butter takes it all to the next level as a boozy finishing garnish.