Nothing says summer like a bright, juicy corn on the cob, cooked just right, and slicked with butter. To get that though, you first have to shuck that ear of corn. If you’re like me, all winter you look forward to the communal act of pulling out your largest bowl and sitting down with a cousin or a friend to tear husks for a BBQ—this article might not be for you. But for many, corn cleaning is a tedious task that can become finicky as you attempt to remove every little silk. For those who fall in the latter category, I have a method that promises perfectly clean cobs every time, with almost no effort.
Step one: Grab an ear of corn and a knife. Chop off the wider, root end of the cob (opposite where the silks are coming out). The silks of the corn are all connected at that end, so by slicing it, we are freeing the hairs for easier removal.
Next, place the corn, husk and all, into your microwave. Run on high for 30 seconds. This isn’t going to cook your corn. Instead, it will generate just enough steam in between the leaves, the silk, and the kernels, to loosen everything up a bit.
Carefully remove the cob from the microwave. The corn should slide very easily out of the husk, clean of any silks. If it isn’t doing so, throw the corn back in the microwave and run at 10 second intervals until it comes loose. This can be done with up to three or four ears of corn (though you may have to increase the cook time with each additional cob).
Now cleaned, you can use the corn as you intended: boiling, grilling, salad-ing, etc. If you simply want to steam the corn, just run it in the microwave for four to five more minutes. (The husk acts as a natural steaming basket and microwave steaming produces super simple results.)
With this hack in hand, you’re ready to take on this corn season.
Have more culinary questions? Ask away on our Hotline page or drop us a line at 1 (877)-52-HOTLINE
See what other Food52 readers are saying.