Once and for all: THIS is the best way to prepare corn on the cob
How do you prepare corn on the cob for a barbecue? Do you put it in the microwave, boil it in salted water or place it on the grill? The Kitchn investigated it thoroughly, so now we know for sure how to cook corn on the cob until it’s tender, hot and deliciously juicy.
The Kitchn tested eight cooking methods, and the tasting panel ate all the results. Sometimes the corn kernels become dry and hard; with other methods, you risk the kernels remaining raw and therefore difficult to eat. One corn on the cob stood head and shoulders above the rest: the cob that was cooked on the barbecue wrapped in its husks.
Dry kernels, naked cobs
The worst way to prepare corn on the cob? In the microwave. According to the instructions, the whole corn cobs had to be wrapped in damp towels and cooked on full power for five minutes. The result: dry kernels that sometimes even popped. Even with lots of butter spread over the cob, the panel didn’t find it particularly tasty. Naked cobs on the grill weren’t good either—too dry and even burnt. Corn cobs wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked on the barbecue scored better. They were deliciously juicy, just like the corn cobs from the pressure cooker, from a butter bath and simply boiled in plenty of salted water. The corn cobs cooked in the oven also received a very good rating.
Deliciously smoky too
But the absolute tastiest, earning a perfect ten out of ten, were the grilled corn cobs. They were wrapped tightly in the corn husks, placed on the grill for fifteen minutes, and the kernels were perfectly cooked and hot. Grilling also gave the corn a smoky flavor, which is really part of the experience when you’re having a barbecue. Corn cobs with husks aren’t available everywhere in the Netherlands, especially not among the barbecue supplies at the supermarket, but you can find them at a greengrocer. And do you already know how to easily remove those delicious kernels from the cob?
