by J. Michael Wheeler
Corn on the cob: simple food, easy to prepare. Here in New England it’s at its peak this time of year. Sweet, abundant, and with autumn just around the corner, one of those summer things one wants to enjoy to overabundance.
But sometimes I’ll want to quickly cook up and eat just one or two ears. Being a lazy summer kind of guy, I don’t always want to boil a big pot of water, cook the corn, and then clean the big pot. So I thought: how about the microwave oven?
Turns out that corn on the cob has a built in steamer: the husk. And the nature of the microwave creates a hot steamy heat within those husks.
So here is a lazy days of summer cooking tip:
Nuked Corn on the Cob
1. Get fresh sweet corn on the cob.
2. Leave husks on. Pop one or two ears of corn into your microwave.
3. Cook on high for one or two or three minutes per ear. The time will depend on the power of you microwave and the size of the ears of corn.
4. After a couple of minutes remove the corn from the microwave. The outside of the husks should feel slightly warm, but not hot.
5. WATCH OUT! Inside the husks WILL BE STEAMY and VERY HOT!
Protect your hands with oven mitts or paper towels as you remove the husks from the corn. (After peeling the husks down, I’ve found that cutting the stock of the cob is the easiest way to remove the husks: the stock softens and may be too pliable to snap off.)
6. Add butter, salt and pepper, or nothing. This time of year the corn is so sweet, it really stands on its own.