Three Ways to Grill the Best Corn on the Cob

Perfectly grilled corn is our idea of summer gold.

The middle of summer brings to the farmers market one of our favorite things to cook on the grill: corn. This summer vegetable is at its peak of flavor in the hottest months, and its inherent sweetness takes well to the char and smoke you get from a grill. But do you shuck the cobs? Grill them in the husks? There are a few options when it comes to grilling corn on the cob — here are three ways to do it.

Grill it directly on the grates

If lightly charred corn is your goal, this is the method for you. Heat your grill to medium-high. Shuck the corn, and clean off the silk threads as best you can (don’t worry about catching every bit; any stray threads will burn off). If you’d like to use the husks as a handle, peel them back, leaving most of the husk attached to the cob. Brush the corn cob with butter or olive oil, season it with salt, and place the cobs directly over the heat (chef Traci des Jardins offers a great tip in her recipe for Grilled Corn with Cotija and Quicos to position the husks over the edge of the grill so they do not burn). Cook, turning the cobs occasionally, for eight to 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the corn; you want to get some color on the kernels without them becoming completely charred.

As the corn cooks, the sugars will caramelize, intensifying the flavor of the corn. You can opt to layer in even more flavor with a compound butter or sauce. Chef Kris Yenbamroong of Night + Market and Night + Market Song in Los Angeles infuses a hint of sweet coconut flavor into his Grilled Sweet Corn with Coconut Glaze by basting it while cooking with a quick, simple sauce made of coconut milk, coconut sugar, salt and turmeric. He calls this a "high pleasure, low hassle" way to cook corn.

Related: The Surprising History of the Corn Cob Holder

Keep it wrapped in the husks

If tender corn kernels are your ideal, grill your corn with the husks on. This method requires little-to-no prep work in advance of grilling, but takes a bit longer for the corn to cook. You can simply place whole cobs in the husks on a medium-hot grill, and cook them for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them occasionally. The husks will char all over (and — fair warning — get a little messy), but the corn itself won’t brown or char at all; it essentially steams in the husk. Pull them off the grill, peel back the husks, and eat.

If you want to reduce the chance of the husks catching fire on the grill, soak the corn in water for 20 minutes before grilling. You can also peel back the husks and remove the silks before wrapping the corn back in the husks and grilling, but that step is optional; it’s easy to peel back the silks with the rest of the husks when you are ready to eat.

Wrap it up in foil

If you bought corn already shucked, or want the results of grilling corn still wrapped in the husks without the mess of all those burnt husks, you can wrap the cobs in foil for similar results. Richard Sax, the founding director of Food & Wine's test kitchen, suggested this cooking method, noting that it also works well for roasting corn in the oven.

Use butter and sauces to get the most flavor from grilled corn

When grilling corn wrapped in husks or in foil, you have the option to brush the corn with plain or a compound butter before wrapping it up. In his recipe for Grilled Corn on the Cob with Roasted Garlic and Herbs, chef Michel Nischan suggests peeling back the husks, removing the silks, then spreading a garlic-herb butter all over the corn cob before folding the husks back over the corn (use a twist tie or string to secure the tops). He wraps the corn in foil for an extra level of protection from the flames.

After you’ve grilled corn, you eat it immediately, dress it with a swipe of butter and sprinkle of salt, or go big with sauces. Chef Tim Byres keeps things simple with a mixture of honey, butter, and cayenne pepper for a sweet-spicy bite on his Honey-Buttered Grilled Corn. Chef Sheldon Simeon offers a Hawaiian take on Mexican elotes with the bright, tangy sauce he created for his Grilled Corn on the Cob with Calamansi Mayo.

Related: 5 Ways to Dress Up Corn on the Cob

You can also cut the corn off the cob, and add it to a salad packed with flavor, like this Indian-inspired Grilled Corn Salad with Coconut Peanut Chaat, in which grilled corn is mixed with coconut, curry leaves, and peanuts for a salty, nutty, crunchy, juicy, sweet, savory, and crisp salad. Or contrast sweet grilled corn with a punchy charred jalapeño–and-herb-spiked dressing in this Grilled Okra, Corn, and Tomato Salad. Charred corn is featured on these summery toasts, mixed with kale and grilled zucchini for a hearty salad perfect as a summer lunch, and mixed with orzo and goat cheese for this elegant pasta salad. And if you want to make a showstopping summer dinner appetizer, use the husks as a wrapper and grill goat cheese with a corn relish, as Andrea Slonecker does with this Corn Husk–Grilled Goat Cheese with Corn Relish and Honey. It’s a creative way to take grilled corn to a new level.

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