How Celeb Chef Gordon Ramsay Brings The Heat With Corn On The Cob

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From time to time, we get so caught up listening to Gordon Ramsay's hilarious (and strangely informative) rants — like the time he colorfully informed folks about the restaurant menu red flag you shouldn't ignore — that we forget he actually makes really, really good food. Ramsay has earned no fewer than 17 Michelin stars over his storied career as a head chef and inducted a whole generation of struggling newbie chefs and fledgling restaurateurs into the often-unforgiving culinary industry on TV shows like "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmares." So, trust chef Ramsay to take a humble and unsophisticated ingredient like corn on the cob and turn it into something extraordinary with a few simple steps.

Ramsay's grilled corn with chipotle butter is a little savory, a little spicy, and a whole lot of delicious. He takes succulent fresh corn, grills it in oil on a hot pan, and, while that's toasting up, makes a delectable butter topping: softened butter, cilantro, and rehydrated and diced dried chipotle chiles. Once the corn is cooked, he drapes it in luxurious spoonfuls of the seasoned butter and sprinkles it generously with Lancashire cheese. It's a mess to eat, as Ramsay points out himself, but you will savor every bite. Just don't forget the extra napkins! This corn is ready to be the breakout star of your next summertime cookout, or it can add zest and pop to normal dinners. It's pretty effortless to whip up but packs a punch in terms of taste and presentation.

While Gordon Ramsay "grills" his corn in a pan on the stovetop, we think that you can't go wrong with air fryer corn on the cob or putting the corn on an actual grill. Any method that gets your fresh corn roasty, toasty, and golden is going to do the trick. This probably isn't the time to boil your ears, however, as the grilled savor is part of what makes this dish so extraordinary.

Don't have dried chipotles on hand? You can get by just fine with canned chipotles in adobo, and the sauce will actually make your butter even smokier and with more of a kick. Chipotle peppers, which are actually smoked jalapeños, are unique in flavor. You might be able to swap your type of dried chiles if you like more of a spicy sock to the mouth, but you will lose an element of the flavor profile that we feel is indispensable. Also non-negotiable, in our opinion, is the cilantro (which British chef Ramsay calls "coriander" due to international linguistic differences). The brightness and freshness of the herb simply can't be replicated. On the other hand, if you can't source the same cheese as Ramsay uses, don't fret. Lancashire cheese is known for being buttery and crumbly, so there is some flexibility to offset the peppers here. Mexican cotija cheese is similar in texture, or you could even use plain ol' feta.