Corn on the cob - help!

Soak in cold water for a hour or all afternoon if I remember to put it in early enough.

Don't husk or remove silk before putting on the BBQ, whether it's gas, lump on the kettle or the UDS doesn't matter when the husks char up it's done. On the UDS you want to get it before it chars. But LOVE that smoke taste the drum and hickory/mesquite gives.

Silk removes easy as all get out, silicone oven gloves work wonders. So does the ov glove.

boatnut said:

Landarc brings up very good point about the freshness of said corn. That will be your munchkin in quest for perfect corn. that being said....forget all about grilling it, smoking it, yada yada. Bring a big pot of water to boil, toss ears in, bring back to boil for anywhere between 4 and 7 minutes then remove from pot. It's really a matter of personal preference. I tend to like my corn "ala dente". Some like it "well done". The fresher the better. Don't bother adding sugar or for gods sake, don't waste good Jack Daniels in the water!

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Did somebody say munchkin? vvvvv

Just remember to NEVER salt the water. Sugar can help but the salt will sieze up the starches and ruin it.

BigBarry said:

Just remember to NEVER salt the water. Sugar can help but the salt will sieze up the starches and ruin it.

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I disagree - the best time to introduce salt is in the water when cooking.

To each their own, just my opinion honed growing up on the Farm in the midwest

What do you do for potatoes - another starchy vegetable?

Jebber said:

I disagree - the best time to introduce salt is in the water when cooking.

To each their own, just my opinion honed growing up on the Farm in the midwest

What do you do for potatoes - another starchy vegetable?

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I agree to each their own but in this case, chemistry is chemistry. Alton Brown and other chefs have proven that salt will act on the starches in the kernels and toughen them up.

Example: http://www.ochef.com/1180.htm

I love salt (and gobs of butter) on my corn but not during the cooking process.

Enjoy it if you do but try it some time without. Cook two batches of corn from the same pick with and without and see what you get.

Jebber said:

I disagree - the best time to introduce salt is in the water when cooking.

To each their own, just my opinion honed growing up on the Farm in the midwest

What do you do for potatoes - another starchy vegetable?

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As for other starchy veggies, the salt will help season them duing cooking and develop the starches. Maybe really fresh sweet peas are the same as corn. Gotta try it.

where the weak are killed and eaten!

Hey "Spook" aka Kirk...... far be it for me to give you advise on cooking! You are a master of masters as far as I'm concerned! I always read your posts on the Yellow Bullet! You know your stuff! :thumb:

Before I learned to soak and grill corn I used my turkey fryer to boil it up all the time. I love a good corn boil! I just added some salt to the water(I think it helps to make the water boil faster) and boil it up for 15 minutes or so. I do agree with the freshness of corn making the cooking times vary. I personally do not think you can wreck COTC. Just try a piece before you pull it and adjust from there.

OFF TOPIC! Last weekend we bought some corn to cook up and one thing I noticed was how tall the kernels were! I mean these were like 3/8" or taller off the stalk. I think this was some kind of hybrid corn from Toyota! I mean I started eating it with my foot on the floor. Then all the sudden I realized I could not stop and I was running out of control! Not sure what type of corn this was or if maybe I never payed attention but it was great. I have never seen corn with such a deep bite!

Good luck on the 4th Kirk. I'm sure you will do just fine! Vince @ FLT

Boil a few ears the night before for different times and see which tastes best.

BigBarry said:

I agree to each their own but in this case, chemistry is chemistry. Alton Brown and other chefs have proven that salt will act on the starches in the kernels and toughen them up.

Example: http://www.ochef.com/1180.htm

I love salt (and gobs of butter) on my corn but not during the cooking process.

Enjoy it if you do but try it some time without. Cook two batches of corn from the same pick with and without and see what you get.

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The problem is that you have different "experts" saying different things. My wife watched AB and he said not to salt the water. She took this as gospel so I was always having to salt it when she wasn't looking :crazy:

Then we were watching another "expert" on the food channel explaining why you should salt the water when cooking corn. My wife looked at me and said whatever.

In any case I don't think there is a definitive proof either way, it depends on who you care to listen to. The one true thing is that I'm looking forward to the start of the Midwest corn season!

This thread came at the right time. I have to cook corn for about 80 people on Saturday. I'm gonna boil using the turkey fryer. Thanks all.

My Wife makes the Best Corn-On-The-Cob I have ever had.

Over the years we have tried everything you can think of the make good Corn-On-The-Cob.
We have left the shucks on and cooked it over a wood fire, on a charcoal grill, on a gas grill. We have even soaked the ears, shucks and all, in water before roasting them.
We have also removed the shucks and boiled the corn in a big metal pot filled with water.
We have removed the shucks and grilled the corn on a charcoal grill and on a gas grill.

Now, we shuck the ears of corn, remove the silks, trim off the ends of the ears and place them in a 9" X 13" Pyrex, Glass, Baking Dish, add 2 or 3 Tablespoons of Water, Cover Tightly With Plastic Wrap and Microwave, using the Pre-Programmed Setting.

doctorsmoke (Doc)