Tuesday Tip: Boiling Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob has to be one of my most favorite things to eat.  It’s sweet, chewy, and with a pinch of salt, it can be a bit savory as well.  You get to eat it with your hands and if you’re doing it right, then you look like a mess with corn and butter all over your face.  The good news is that you look just like everyone else who’s eating with you!

I remember being given the job of shucking the corn as a kid.  I had to sit out in the back yard with a bowl and a paper bag.  The paper bag was for the husks and corn silk while the bowl was for the fresh cleaned corn. When we lived in North Carolina it was common place for people to shuck their corn in the grocery store instead of at home.

I admit that I found this to be the oddest thing.  I still took mine home as I didn’t really want to be standing around in the grocery store for an extra half an hour to shuck corn.

I stock up on summer corn as much as I can and then freeze it so I can enjoy throughout the rest of the year.  But that’s another tip for another day.   Today we’re talking about cooking corn!

Boiled corn was the only way we ever had corn when I was growing up.  It wasn’t until around 2001 when the Food Network was starting to take off that I was exposed to other ways of cooking corn.  There are so many ways that we should have a discussion just on that, yes?

I have not yet mastered some of the other ways of cooking corn but I have mastered boiling corn.  Or at least my approach to boiling corn has worked the best for me so far.  Boiling corn is really easy and doesn’t take as long as people want to make it out to be.  Here’s what I do to get the best tasting boiled corn.

Andrea’s Method for Boiling Corn on the Cob

  1. Bring a large pot (like a pasta or soup pot) of water up to a rolling boil
  2. Drop in the corn
  3. Allow the water to come back up to a boil
  4. Boil corn for a minute or so
  5. Turn off the heat and put a lid on the pot
  6. Allow corn to hang out in the pot until you’re ready to eat

This works for fresh corn or frozen corn on the cob.  The water in the pot stays hot gently cooking the corn and also keeping it warm.  I will get the corn started and let it hang out while I finish cooking the rest of the meal.  This is especially handy if you’re having corn with some grilled food because the corn can hang out while you finish up grilling whatever you’re having with the meal.

Can you over cook the corn this way?  Yes.  But the corn would have to be sitting in the pot for something like 45 minutes or so which is a long time.  That can result in some mushy corn.  Ideally, you don’t want the corn sitting in the water for more than half an hour.

This is a really easy method for boiling corn that results in nice sweet corn with a slight bite to it.  You don’t have to worry about a bunch of boiling water while you’re trying to cook other things and the corn will be ready when you are.  The next time you have corn on the cob and you’re boiling it, give this a try!

8 thoughts on “Tuesday Tip: Boiling Corn on the Cob

  1. Love, love, love corn on the cob!!! I’m going to try that method of boiling. It’s always been a guessing game with me as to how long to cook the corn.

  2. I always see people shucking corn at the Whole Foods here. It’s so odd to me too!

    I haven’t had boiled corn on the cob in years. That’s the way my mom makes it but for some reason, I’m always roasting it! Definitely gonna try boiled again soon.

  3. We don’t normally boil our call on the cob, we normally barbecue it or grill it, just to give it a bit of edge. I’m definitely gonna give boiling another go see if I can spice up a bit, thanks for the share Andrea

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