Corn Grilled In The Husk:

Recipe Type: Corn, Barbecue and Grilling
Yields: serves many
Soak time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:

Fresh ears of corn
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and pepper

Selecting Fresh Corn:

Good corn on the cob always begins with selecting the freshest, just ripe ears of your favorite variety of corn. The absolute best corn is corn that is picked ripe and straight from your own vegetable garden! Now I know everybody can not have a garde and grow their own corn, so pick fresh corn from your local market carefully!

When buying corn at the market, the husks (outer green covering) should be bright green and fit snugly around the ear of corn. The kernels should be in tight rows right to the tip of the ear of corn, and be plump and milky.

In the grocery store, it is perfectly acceptable (well maybe a little frowned on) to peel back the outer green husk to check and see if the corn looks ok to you.

Preparation:

If the ears of corn have many layers of husk on them, peeloff only the first couple of layers, leaving a few layers for protection. Do not remove all the layers.

Soak the whole cobs in a pot of cold water for 15 minutes. Be sure the ears are completely covered with water. This will provide extra moisture for cooking and will steam the corn kernels inside the husks.

While the corn is soaking, preheat the barbecue grill to a medium temperature (350 degrees F).

After soaking, remove the corn from the water and shake off any excess water. 

Begin by pulling the husks of the corn back (but do not completely remove them). Remove and discardonly the silk.

Brush the kernels with olive oil or butter. NOTE: I’ve used butter instead of olive oil, but I think butter is best applied after the corn comes off the grill just before you eat it.

If desired, before you re-wrap the corn in the husks, add a little garlic, chopped onion, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. For an international twist, try using herbs such as basil, cilantro, or oregano. Then reposition the husks back over the kernels and tie each ear with a piece of loose husk or twine.

Place the prepared ears of corn on a medium heat grill, rotating the corn as needed to keep it from getting charred too much on one side. After a couple of turns, place the corn husk on an indirect heat (moved to the side of the grill) or on the top shelf of your grill, and close the cover.

Allow the corn to slowly continue cooking for approximately 15 minutes.

As soon as the husk picks up the dark silhouette of the kernels and begins to pull away from the tip of the ear, the corn is ready to come off the grill. Don’t overcook the corn or it will become mushy. You know when you’ve gone too far if the corn cob flexes easily in your hands.

Remove the corn from the grill. Be careful and wear oven mitts as the corn will be very hot!

Grasping one end with a oven mitt or dish towel, peel the husks and silk from the top down (like a banana) - they should all come off in one piece. Ashes will get on the corn, but this is ok. If the corn is too hot to handle, do this part in the sink under warm running water.

Once you've removed most of the silk, rinse the corn under warm running water to remove any excess ash and silk.

Serve with butter and enjoy!