The most important thing to remember when grilling corn on the cob is that the corn is much better if it is fresh. Corn is naturally sweet, but over time, those sugars in the corn turn to starch. In fact, an ear of corn will lose 40% of its sugars after just 6 hours at room temperature. So, buy your corn as fresh as you can (from a farm stand is best), refrigerate it until you’re ready to cook, but try to cook it the same day you buy it if possible.
Fresh corn should have bright green husks, yellow stalks and the silks should be just turning brown lightly. Dark brown silks indicate that it is not as fresh as it once was. The kernels of corn should be plump. One way to test the corn is to puncture a kernel with your thumbnail – a milky liquid should come out.
Once you have your fresh corn, there are 5 ways you can cook it on the grilll:
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Do nothing!
Grill the ears of corn in their husks, setting them right on the grill grate. Let the husks burn, grilling the corn for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the ears every 5 minutes or so. Let the corn cool and then peel the husks away and enjoy.
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Do a little
Pull the husks back from the ear and remove the silks. Add a pat of butter and some herbs and replace the husks (or at least 2 layers of husks). Grill for about 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Let it cool slightly, pull the husks back and enjoy
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Do a little more
Completely shuck the corn and then wrap each ear in aluminum foil, with or without butter. Grill for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Let it cool slightly, remove the aluminum foil and enjoy.
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Do it naked!
Completely shuck the corn and place it on the grill as is. Grill, turning every 2 minutes or so, until some but not all of the kernels are nicely toasted and brown. This is done best with really fresh corn that doesn’t need the benefit of steaming to retain its juiciness.
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Get help
Completely slice the kernels off the ear of corn. Toss in a BBQ Grill Skillet – this will give you more even toasting of all the kernels. This method also makes it easy to throw the corn kernels into other dishes without having to slice them off a hot cob!
Quick Notes:
- Corn loses 40% of its sugars after 6 hours at room temperature, so buy fresh and cook right away.
- Fresh ears of corn have bright green husks, light yellow stalks and lightly browned silks.
- Fresh corn will have plump, translucent kernels – pop a kernel with fingernail, milky liquid should pop out.
- Refrigerate to slow the sugar to starch conversion if you can’t cook it right away.
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Hi Maureen. Just a little twist on BBQ’ing corn right in the husks.
I soak the corn in cold water in the kitchen sink, for about 30 minutes while the BBQ pre-heats on low.
Place the ears on the grill, close the top & turn in about 25 minutes. When they have charred, remove to the sink, and under running COLD water, shuck them and the silk comes right off at the same time. The ears are just the right temperature to apply butter etc. and enjoy!
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