Get Juicier Corn On The Cob With This Simple Cooking Technique

Corn on the cob is delicious as a side dish, no matter how it's prepared, but for many people, it's that much better when enjoyed straight off the grill. Grilling and roasting is a great way to bring caramelized, smoky flavors to the sweet vegetable, but there's one debate that endures: husk off versus husk on. As much of a slog as it can be, many people are used to shucking corn before cooking it. However, did you know that you can actually cook your cobs with their husks on, avoiding the hassle and improving their texture and flavor? For an expert take on how husks can help yield better-tasting corn, Chowhound spoke exclusively with chef, cookbook author, and caterer Jenn de la Vega.

Cooking corn in its husk not only guards the kernels from burning or drying out, but it also acts as a natural steaming mechanism, trapping heat and ensuring the corn inside stays moist and juicy. Tin foil can help you achieve similarly flavorful results, but why go through the effort of shucking your cobs just to wrap them again? In almost all situations, de la Vega prefers to cook corn with the husks on. "If I am outside working with an open flame, I prefer the insurance of husks to help protect the corn over direct coals or wood," she says. Even at home, she confides, "I love the no-prep approach."

The key to cooking perfect ears of corn is all about controlling the heat exposure it receives and how long it's on the grill. Jenn de la Vega recommends grilling corn for 15 to 20 minutes. However, the line between perfectly charred and unappealingly burnt is thin, so it's important to keep a close eye on it and turning intermittently is imperative. A few visual cues should alert you to its doneness. "If you have the husk on," de la Vega says, "you want the outermost leaves to be browned or charred and the inside to be steamed and moist." Look out for blistered kernels as well, she adds. "If you see that they're popping or sunken, they've gone for too long."

Though de la Vega is a strong proponent of cooking with the husks on, there are a few exceptions. "I only shuck the corn if I need to portion them into quarters or eighths for the kiddos," she says. However, you can also wait until after cooking your corn in its husk to split up your cobs for easier snacking. This way, you'll always have the juiciest corn no matter how you choose to serve it.