Bacon-Wrapped Corn on the Cob Is the Best Summer Side

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Fresh sweet corn is one of the best things about summer. Sure, the weather’s nice, the flowers are blooming, and there are cute baby bunny rabbits hopping around the grass every morning, but the fact that summer is the only time you can get really good, fresh, sweet corn is definitely one of the season’s major selling points.

The freshest sweet corn is delicious even if you just eat it raw right off the cob, but there are also a lot of fun things you can do with it, like covering it in chili flakes and wrapping it in bacon. Because most things are better when wrapped in bacon, after all.

This recipe is very simple, because when you have good, fresh summer corn, you don’t need to do a lot to make it delicious. Just line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to catch the mess, then brush each ear of corn with a mixture of melted butter and crushed red pepper flakes. If you like it really spicy, you can add some cayenne to the mixture as well.

Next, wrap two pieces of uncooked, thin-cut bacon around each ear of corn, but don’t pull the bacon too tight. It will shrink when you cook it, so just drape it loosely at the beginning. Then cook the corn and bacon in the oven for about half an hour, making sure to rotate all the ears halfway through so the bacon gets crispy on all sides.

This also works on the grill, but just remember that any time you put bacon on a grill, the melting fat has a tendency to catch fire when it hits the coals and cause flare-ups.

Get the Recipe: Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Corn from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Get more (corn) inspiration: 12 Surprising One-Ingredient Toppings for Corn on the Cob