Grilled corn on the cob is one of summer's great luxuries, on par with ice cold beer and push pops.
During its peak season, corn tastes different from the imported ears you can scrounge up the rest of the year—it's so pure and sweet that covering it up with amess of mayo and cheeseseemswrong.
But just how one goes about the actual process of grilling the stuff is the subject ofmuch debate. Do you boil it before it hits the grates? Should the husk and silk come off first, or does keeping it on make for a better end result?
I hopped into the Epicurious Test Kitchen with Associate Food Editor Anna Stockwell to set the record straight.
BLANCHED, THEN GRILLED
One school of thought dictates that the best results come fromcooking corn in boiling liquidbefore it ever makes its way onto the grill.
We experimented with two different methods here. In one test, we blanched the corn in a mixture of whole milk and water (1 cup to 2 quarts, respectively) as suggested inthis New YorkTimesrecipe. The other test was conducted without milk in plain boiling water.
While the milk led to corn that was slightly sweeter, both blanching methods produced a similar result: corn that tasted as though it had been boiled and not grilled, despite the fact that it was riddled with charred bits. We were unable to detect any of that deep, smokey flavor that's the hallmark (and, really, the point) of grilled foods.
HUSKED, THEN GRILLED
Next, we removed both the silk and husk from the corn and grilled it. While the corn definitely picked up more flavor from the grill this time around, it picked up a littletoomuch flavor. By time the corn cooked through, a portion of the kernels burned, masking its delicate sweetness with the not-so-subtle flavor of char.
SIMPLY GRILLED
So, maybe the corn's husk and silk play a vital part in protecting the corn from the grill? This time—aside from telling the corn it's special—we did absolutely nothing to it before grilling. The husks charred, but the corn steamed, without picking up much flavor from the grill.
Want to replicate perfectly cooked, boiled corn on the grill? This is your method. But it still wasn't what we were looking for.
SOAKED, THEN GRILLED
The thinking behind soaking unhusked corn before grilling is that it will prevent the husks from burning. In our tests, we found that even after ten minutes in water, the corn's husk still charred up and tasted nearly identical to the previous test.
THE WINNER: PARTIALLY HUSKED, THEN GRILLED
As soon as Anna and I bit into this last method, we knew we were onto something.
The absolute best way to grill corn? Pull back the husk—without removing it entirely—and remove the silk from the corn. Then pull the husk back into place. This allows coverage from the grill, both protecting the corn from direct exposure to the flames and partially steaming the ear, while still allowing the smoke from the grill penetrate the husk.
It's the Goldilocks of grilled corn methods.
Plus, before you pull the husk back over the corn, you can add even more flavor by rubbing it with a compound butter, spices, or an infused oil like you might with do under the skin on a roast chicken.
Now all that's left to do is raid the closest farm stand and hit the grill.
