Recipes / Sides
Braaied mielies with flavoured butters
Sweetcorn cobs cooked in foil over medium coals, then charred on the grid and finished with curry, chakalaka, herb or lime-chilli butter.
- Coals
- Medium coals
- Prep
- 15 min
- On the fire
- 25 min
- Serves
- 8 as a side
Ingredients
- 8 fresh sweetcorn cobs, husks and silk removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and black pepper
Curry butter
- 160 g (2/3 cup) soft butter
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
Chakalaka butter
- 200 g (7 oz) soft butter
- 200 g (7 oz) chakalaka, about half a tin, or a spicy tomato and pepper relish
Herb butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) soft butter
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked salt and a grind of black pepper
Lime-chilli butter
- 200 g (7 oz) soft butter
- 10 g (1/3 oz) coriander (cilantro), chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon chilli flakes
- zest of 1 lime
- grated parmesan, to finish
Method
- Make the curry butter. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small pan and fry the garlic, ginger and curry powder for 2 minutes. Let it cool, then beat it into the rest of the butter.
- Make the other butters by mashing each set of flavourings into its butter with a fork. Roll each into a log in baking paper and chill for at least 1 hour so they slice cleanly.
- Rub the cobs with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay each on a square of foil with a slice of flavoured butter and wrap it tightly.
- Put the parcels on the grid over medium coals. Cook for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.
- Unwrap the cobs and lay them directly on the grid for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until the kernels pick up some char.
- Serve with the remaining butters sliced on a board so everyone adds more at the table.
Done when: the kernels are bright yellow, give under a thumbnail, and a pierced kernel runs clear and juicy rather than milky.
Tips
- Use fresh corn in season. Old, starchy cobs stay tough no matter how long they cook.
- To cook without foil, brush the oiled cobs and grill directly over medium coals for 10 to 15 minutes, turning every 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter at the end, not before, because it burns on direct heat.
- If you have a potjie going, put the foil parcels on the hot lid for about 30 minutes while the pot cooks.
- Make the butters a day ahead and keep them chilled. Leftovers are good on steak and bread.
- Keep finished parcels wrapped at the edge of the braai until you are ready to serve.
Maize is the staple grain of South Africa, and a cob charred over a fire is street food in every city. Roadside sellers cook braai mielies over tin-drum fires and hand them over hot, with salt and nothing else. The flavoured butters are a newer braai habit, and the chakalaka version ties the cob back to the relish that usually sits next to it on the plate.