Along with watermelon, fresh corn on the cob is one of the great joys of summer. While I can buy corn that is shucked, packaged, and sold in the refrigerated section, unshucked corn is stacked high and looks fresh at the grocery store these days, so that's what I buy.
The problem is that I've always had a hard time getting all the silk off when I'm shucking corn myself. Besides the bits of silk clinging to the corn, when I'm done there's silk all over my counter and floor.
So when I read this nifty one-step silk-removal tip from Lori Rice in a guide to cooking corn on the cob, I knew I had to try it: “It's true that the silks do slide off the corn easily when the cob is microwaved in the husk.”
It works like a charm! Seriously, there was no mess on my counters and not a single strand of silk stuck to my corn. Plus, the microwave method also cooks the corn perfectly, allowing you to bite into the tender kernels without having to worry about ending up with a mouthful of silk.
How to Shell Corn in the Microwave
Cut the end of the corn stalk using a sharp knife. You want to cut enough so that the stalk is completely removed and the husk is detached from the bottom of the cob, but not so much that you lose a lot of kernels.
Place as many ears of trimmed corn as you want to cook on a large plate. Some people microwave the corn directly, but I prefer to use a plate in case bits of husk or silk fall off the corn: it's easier to clean a plate than it is to remove debris from the microwave.
Next, cook the corn until tender, about two to four minutes per ear. Over time, you'll adjust the exact cooking time for your microwave and how cooked you want your corn. Luckily, it's hard to dry out corn in the microwave because the husk traps steam to gently cook it. That said, fresh corn doesn't need to be cooked much, so I'd start with the shortest cooking time and adjust from there.
Carefully pick up the corn by the uncut end and hold it vertically over a cutting board or plate. If the corn is too hot to handle, use a kitchen towel. Shake it a few times. The clean corn will slide off on its own, leaving the silk securely inside the husk.
It is now ready to be brushed with butter and enjoyed!
Simple tip!
Make sure to cut and peel the corn as soon as you remove it from the microwave. I tried waiting until the corn was cool enough to handle without oven mitts and it didn't come off the husk. If this happens to you, just cook the corn for an extra minute and try again.
It turns out farmers love this trick.
People online love this corn-shucking method, and so do I—but what do the experts have to say? To find out, I stopped by the Fino Farms booth at the Down to Earth Farmers Market in New York City, where I purchased the delicious local corn for my testing. I asked the saleswoman if she'd heard of this corn-shucking hack, and she told me the farmer who grew the corn swears by it!
My next stop was at my friend Kimberlae Saul’s house, who grew up in Iowa, one of the largest corn producers in the United States. Kimberlae’s grandfather grew corn, and after a childhood spent eating the freshest, tastiest corn, she’s particularly picky about her corn. (I recently learned a fun fact about Kimberlae: Her family dedicated a stick of butter to her just for washing down hot corn.)
Kimberlae is a very nice person, so I didn’t expect her to laugh at me when I asked her how to peel corn in the microwave, but I did expect her to gently roll her eyes. Instead, she said, “Oh yeah, that’s what my grandpa always did!” I was already sold on this genius hack, but the endorsement from an Iowa corn farmer really sealed the deal.
Thanks to this expert-approved technique, there'll be a lot more corn on my table this summer, and a lot less swearing about the mess in my kitchen.
