Annie’s Husk-on Steamed Sweet Corn-On-The-Cob

It is getting to that time of year again where the markets and groceries are full of sweet corn, still on the cob.

Until a few years back, I would always get a glimmer of excitement, grab up a dozen, and take them home. To sit. And look at me. And go bad. I had sweet corn guilt.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to eat the sweet corn. Nope, that wasn’t it at all. Its just that it seemed like so much work to husk it, get a huge pot of water boiling, and cook the ears up.

So much hot work. In the middle of summer. Ugh. So most of the time, my good intentions of having sweet corn-on-the-cob for my family, went right out the door along with the spoiled corn.

Then I learned of an easy-peasy, cool way to prepare corn-on-the-cob in even the hottest weather. Your summer meals will never be the same.

Annie’s Husk-on Steamed Sweet Corn-On-The-Cob

• Select your ears of corn. Try to get medium sized ears that are not soft or have a bad smell. Small ears do not have fully developed kernels, and large ears have over ripe kernels.
• Strip off the outer husks. I always try to make sure to get those that are brownish and longer off of the ear. While you are at it, go ahead and pull off as much silk as you can by grabbing the end of it and playing tug-of-war between the silk and the ear.
• Place in microwave. You can use a plate if you wish, but I never do. I just place it right into the microwave. When I am finished, I can easily wipe away any stray silks or husk pieces.
• Set microwave to high for 2 minutes per ear of corn, with a minimum of 4 minutes. So, if you just have one ear, set it for 4 minutes. 2 ears, for 4 minutes. 5 ears for 10 minutes, and so on. If you are doing a dozen ears, that is 24 minutes.
• Check one ear, toward the bottom of the pile, to see if it is done. Be very careful. The corn will be extremely hot. Check corn by pulling back a bit of the husk and pressing your thumbnail into a kernel. It should be relatively soft. If it is not, set the microwave for two more minutes, (five more minutes for a large batch), then check again, repeating the process until corn is cooked to your liking.
• Corn may be left in microwave until you ready to eat it, or may be taken out. I like to set it on the table, wrapped in a dishtowel, in order to keep the heat in. Corn will stay warm for up to 30 minutes while in the husks.
• In our family, we let each person husk their own ear of corn, as they get ready to eat it. We also give everyone or two people a plastic bag to place their husks and silks in. (These are later fed to the goat and pony.) the corn will be hot, so it is best if little ones do not do this step unless you are sure that the corn has cooled. The silks will fall right off as you husk each ear.
• Butter, salt, and pepper to taste.

And there you have it. A quick, cool, and easy way to enjoy sweet corn-on-the-cob all summer long.

Stay tuned for an easy and quick way to put up freezer corn in a coming post!

Enjoy your day, always remembering to live life to the fullest!

~Annie

 

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