Marcus Samuelsson's Favorite Toppings For Corn On The Cob

Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson is known for taking classic dishes — often comfort food, as at his Harlem restaurant Red Rooster — and cranking up the flavor. Samuelsson, who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, often incorporates African and Scandinavian ingredients in his dishes. Since coming to the U.S. in 1994, Samuelsson has racked up culinary awards, and has been featured on various television shows, including as a judge on "Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend," one of the best cooking shows on Netflix.

His recipes are as bold as his impeccable fashion sense, and his take on the perennial summer favorite, corn on the cob, is no different. Samuelsson plays off Mexican street corn by adding soy sauce, Aleppo pepper, garlic, and butter into the mix, along with some other more traditional ingredients. He calls his version "Lip Smackin' Good Corn On The Cob" in his 2014 cookbook "Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook at Home." He had us at Aleppo pepper, one of our favorite go-to condiments.

If you're unfamiliar with Aleppo pepper, it's a moderately spicy, fruity, coarsely ground, bright red condiment made from the partially dried Halaby pepper. It's named after the city of Aleppo in Syria, but is mainly grown in Turkey. Aleppo pepper can amplify the flavors of whatever you add it to. We use it in everything from scrambled eggs to rimming our spicy margaritas.

Marcus Samuelsson pairs this pepper with soy sauce, softened butter, and chopped garlic that he blends up in a food processor and slathers on the corn after it's been grilled for 15 to 20 minutes. The pepper brightens up the corn with a touch of tang and fruitiness and adds a bit of color to the dish. From there, Samuelsson sticks with some classic ingredients from the Mexican version this recipe riffs off of. In the cookbook, Samuelsson writes that he uses corn on the cob as "a palette for playing with flavor," and that this version is "one of the best summertime dishes possible."

Grilled Mexican street corn, called elote, is corn on the cob that's typically grilled and then slathered with mayonnaise, queso fresco, lime, cilantro, and chili powder. It's just one of 59 Mexican dishes you need to try before you die. Marcus Samuelsson's version of corn on the cob swaps out the mayonnaise for butter, which he admits harks back to his childhood.

"I've loved corn on the cob ever since I was a kid," he wrote. "The warm melted butter, the crunchiness of the corn, the messy deliciousness of eating with my hands." Among the more traditional ingredients from Mexican street corn that he includes are cilantro, lime juice, and queso fresco (which can be substituted with mild feta cheese). This ultra-flavorful corn on the cob that includes Aleppo pepper and soy sauce may take a few extra steps, but the results are worth it. In the event you actually have any left over (if that's even possible), there are four easy ways to reheat corn on the cob, from the oven to an air fryer.