Nothing says summer like corn on the cob. I love biting into a sweet, juicy ear of corn! I also love summery recipes that don’t heat up my kitchen.
This recipe grants both of those wishes.
No oven heating up the house for half an hour. No waiting for a big pot of water to boil, or slaving over a grill in the summer heat.
Just set-it-and-forget-it, done-in-a-flash, delicious corn. Corn that is so sweet and flavorful that you don’t even need to add butter (although most of my family does anyway).
My Kind of Side Dish
I forget who first told me about cooking corn on the cob in the microwave, but once I tried it, I was hooked. In the time it would take my oven to preheat, I can have three corn cobs out of the microwave and onto the table.
I don’t usually bother cooking side dishes (baby carrots or a sliced apple totally count as a side dish in my home). But when a recipe is this easy, and the fresh produce so cheap, I’m willing to make an exception.
I also love that corn is surprisingly healthy. It’s a whole grain with lots of protein and fiber, and despite its sweet taste, an average ear of corn has just 77 calories.
Of course, that’s if you resist the butter temptation. If you don’t . . . eh, it’s good to live a little. 🙂
Aw, Shucks!
For years, I’ve been happily microwaving my corn shucked (meaning that the green husks and stringy silk have been removed) for three minutes per cob. As I prepared to write this post, though, I began to wonder if there was a better way.
Some people microwave their corn wrapped in a damp paper towel. Others microwave it in the husk, claiming that it’s easier to shuck your corn after it’s cooked. Some nuke their corn for two minutes per cob, others for three minutes.
Which way was best? I decided to be your guinea pig and find out!
The Great Corn-Nuking Experiment
I bought a bunch of corn, shucked most of it, then started microwaving.
Round 1
Two ears of corn–one shucked, one wrapped in a paper towel–cooked for two minutes per cob. Why no cob in the husk for this round? Um, I don’t know . . . but I thought it made sense at the time.
Both cobs seemed a little undercooked. The wrapped cob cooked a bit more than the bare one, but my family agreed that neither was as sweet and juicy as we were used to.
Round 2
Three cobs–one shucked, one wrapped, and one in the husk–cooked for three minutes per cob (our usual cooking time).
The cobs turned out surprisingly similar. They all cooked through, and had delicious flavor.
Conclusion
I had planned to do more rounds, but the conclusion seemed clear after just two. As long as you cook your corn for three minutes per cob, you can use whichever method you prefer.
Oh, and that claim that it’s easier to shuck corn after it’s cooked? I tried cutting off the stalk and a couple inches of the cooked cob, then grasping the top of the husk and pulling it off, corn silk and all. It worked OK, but it wasn’t as easy as people made it sound.
Personally, I’d rather shuck my corn before I cook it. That way, when it comes out of the microwave it’s ready to eat as soon as it’s cool enough to handle.
If you’ve never tried cooking corn on the cob in the microwave, I encourage you to give it a try. This has been one of my taste testers’ (read: kids’) favorite blog-related experiments yet, second only to the Baked Sliders.
Mmm . . . corn on the cob and sliders. If that doesn’t sound summery, what does?
Microwaved Corn Also Goes Great With:
- Ears of corn
- Butter (optional)
- Remove green husks from each ear of corn. Grocery stores often keep trash cans next to their fresh corn so you can remove the husks right there in the store.
- When you get down to the last layer or two of the husk, grasp half of the silky strands at the top of the ear, and pull them down and away from the cob, along with the part of the husk that covered them. Repeat with the other half of the corn silk and remaining husk.
- Don’t stress about getting every last strand of corn silk off—you won’t. As long as you get most of it off, nobody will notice the 1 percent you missed.
- Arrange ears of corn in microwave, with some space between each ear. Microwave for 3 minutes per ear. For example, if you’re cooking 3 ears together, cook them for 9 minutes.
- Wearing oven mitts, remove corn from microwave to a plate. Careful—the corn is very hot when that timer goes off!
- When corn is cool enough to handle, serve with butter, if desired. Oh yeah, and dental floss. Just sayin’.
You may want to put a paper towel under the corn when you cook it, so it doesn’t leave stray bits of corn silk in your microwave.
My kids love the hands-on experience of eating corn on the cob. I cut the cooked ears in half crosswise to make kid-size servings.
