The Microwave Hack That Makes Shucking Corn Ridiculously Easy

Corn is a popular side dish at potlucks, fiestas, backyard get-togethers, and dinner tables, and it's been feeding people for millennia, first eaten 10,000 years ago in southern Mexico. It's also inexpensive, good right on the cob for elotes or shaved into corn pesto macaroni salad, which is great warm or cold. There is little end to the ways to prepare corn — some like it grilled (if that's you, be sure to grill it with the husks on for the juiciest corn imaginable). Another option is to boil your corn in a butter bath. 

No matter how you take it, someone's got to remove those husks before you can eat it. The good news is that achieving husk-free corn doesn't have to be a hassle. There's a quick microwave hack that can make shucking corn so easy, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. To husk your corn, simply stick the cobs (husk on) in your microwave for a couple of minutes. Once done, cut off the stalk end of the husk and squeeze or shake until that golden-kerneled ear slips free. 

Shucking your corn in the microwave takes almost no prep, and your corn will be huskless in minutes. It's helpful to trim the dry tips of the silk and husk just to avoid a fire hazard, but beyond this, you can get straight to it. 

Place a pair of ears on the microwave's turntable, set the microwave to high, and nuke the cobs for 5 to 6 minutes. Once the timer beeps, carefully remove the corn from the microwave with oven mitts. Move them to a cutting board and cut off the stalk end of the corn, about an inch from the bottom row of kernels. You should see the cob peeking out at you now, waiting to be freed in all its silk-free glory (if you've ever hand-shucked corn before, you know it can take some elbow grease to remove all those little silk strings that the husk leaves behind). Squeeze the husk just like you would a tube of toothpaste. The corn will slip right out of the husk, leaving all the green strands of silk behind. 

How does this magical trick work, you ask? The microwave causes moisture to be released from the corn. As it heats up, the steam pushes the husk and the silk away from the kernels. So get that butter ready. Not only is your freshly microwaved corn now shucked, it's also been steamed and is ready to eat.