Just like the humble potato, corn is such a basic food to cook, but also easy to cook…badly.
There’s a lot of debate around the best way to prepare corn on the cob.
Whether you like it with a little char, nice and soft, or well steamed, there’s a style for everyone. Every culture has its own way of preparing corn and using it for its meals in completely different ways.
For many, corn on the cob is ideal because it’s so easy to prepare.
YouTube channel “Food Wishes”, and their star frontman who goes by the name of Chef John, show us how to make the process of cooking the perfect ear of corn even simpler.
As Chef John lets’ us know, his tip is not exactly about the cooking of the cob per se…
“Any fool can cook an ear of corn…no offence…but that’s not what this tip’s about!”
The aim of the game is to avoid getting too many of those pesky “corn silk” threads in your cooked cobs.
These are the last thing you want all over your delicious corn, pulling them out from between your teeth.
Here’s Chef John’s method.
The easiest way to get that corn cooked nice and thoroughly as fast as possible is still just to microwave it.
If you’re a fan of the barbeque, however, fear not, this hack works on the grill too!
The microwave method sure is efficient!
Our valiant chef instructs us to microwave the corn on high for three and a half minutes.
In order to save himself the trouble of moving his finger to the “zero” button, he cooks his cob for three minutes and thirty-three seconds.
It seems that Chef John can’t help but find hacks, even in the little things!
Pull your ears out!
Ears of corn that is. Be cautious, however, that corn will be piping hot.
Make sure to use a cloth to keep yourself from burning your hands.
Holding your cob steady on a chopping board, go ahead and chop the stalk-end of the cob off.
This releases all of the fibers that run to the end of the cob as “corn silk”.
Give it the squeeze.
Carefully, with the cloth still wrapped around the cob, squeeze the cob so that the corn itself slips slowly out of the husk.
This will be incredibly hot, so do take care.
The perfectly cooked, fiber-free corn cob.
Now, if you look carefully at your cooked cob, you will see that there will be few if any silk fibers running between the kernels, as opposed to when you strip the husk from the pointy tip.
The last step is the tastiest.
Now your corn cob is ready to slather in butter and salt.
Then, you’re ready to tuck in! Remember though, that the corn will still at this point be piping hot, after three and a half minutes in the microwave.
Watch the video below to see the master Chef John himself show off his corn prep skills!
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