Oven-Roasted Corn on the Cob

Hey all, I've heard so many good things about oven-roasting corn on the cob lately, and how it results in a much better flavor than simply boiling it. I've done it twice in the past week, and both times have been a little problematic.

1st time: peeled back the husks, removed the silks, wrapped the husks back over the cob, baked for about 20 minutes in a 525 degree oven. Results were a little smoky, but the corn was kind of chewy.

2nd time: left the husks and silks intact, soaked the corn for a couple minutes, baked for about 40 minutes in 525 degree oven. I got a nice smokiness, but the corn was really chewy along most of the cob (the bottom, where the husk was still dampest, was perfect).

Am I not soaking the cobs long enough before I roast? Am I roasting too long (though I really like the smokiness from the longer roast)? Do you think maybe I've just found a couple less than stellar batches of corn? Any other thoughts or suggestions? Thanks, I'm a total corn fanatic, and looking forward to the perfect cob.

Try soaking them for at least 1 hour. I've never roasted corn in the oven, but I have cooked it on my grill many times. A 1 hour soaking is necessary, as is getting the freshest corn possible.

For years I've been stacking corn (shucked and wrapped in foil) inside the grill opposite the fire, or on the middle level of my WSM. I let it roast about 45 minutes to an hour. Comes out great. No soaking. No worries.

Is it possible that you're roasting too hot? 525 seems awfully aggressive.

I regularly roast plenty of different veggies in the oven, from radishes to cauliflower to broccoli, and 425 for 20-30 minutes (with regular flipping and shaking) seems to always do the trick.

After trying dozens of ways, I've settled on the following: Shuck corn, spray lightly with a canola oil spray, sprinkle with kosher salt, place on rack and broil, turning every 4-5 minutes until browned.

Unshucked, soak (1 hr+) and grill works nice, but for much quicker and great roasted corn on the cob, I shuck and roast directly on gas burners.

My method is quite simple. I roast corn at 400F for 20 minutes unshucked, unsoaked. It results in sweet, flavorful and tender kernels

Thank for the advice, everyone.

EC: While it seems like an absurdly high temperature (trust me, I thought I had read it wrong), I did some more online searching for recipes before trying it, and found quite a few that recommend heating it that high. I think I'll experiment with lower temps, though, and/or try soaking them longer. I will leave no stone unturned in the search for perfect corn.

What's the consensus on removing the husk/silk and wrapping in foil vs. au naturel?

Personally, I think the foil method is more like steaming. I prefer to clean out the silks, coat with a little butter, salt & pepper, and then loosely re-wrap with the husks, for a little more flavor. Roast 'til the sugars in the kernels get a little caramelized.

There's no problem with scorching or drying out when you just do a naked roast?

There's something of a fine line between scorching and caramelizing ... which is why lower temps (375° - 400°) work for me - timing isn't quite as critical. Besides, I usually wear clothes when I'm roasting corn.

Oven-roasted corn, Nero Wolfe-style

GardenofEatin -- If by "chewy," you mean "tough," that sounds like a defect in the corn. Perhaps it was elderly?

For the oven-roasted Nero Wolfe corn described here and shown above, I put the corn in the oven just as it comes:

Do not soak. Do not remove silk. Roast at 475 degrees for 40 minutes.

It's never been chewy, although sometimes when I've let it go too long, it's been a trifle soft (the corn above is a little overdone, as you can see, although taste and texture to the bite were fine). The corn never scorches, though sometimes it gets brown spots, as above, from the metal of the oven rack.

My other thought is whether you're sure of your oven temp. Thermostats often aren't so good at the extreme ends. Check with an oven thermometer. Rex Stout says "hottest possible oven," but he was writing in the early '60s and who knows how old his oven was. Also, he was a novelist, not a food writer. I've an idea that 525 might be hotter than most stoves got then.

eatchicago wrote:Is it possible that you're roasting too hot? 525 seems awfully aggressive.

Today I roasted some extremely fresh corn - shucked, unsoaked, nekkid - for a few minutes over coals in the brick oven at ~700F for about 2 minutes - a little char, a lot of caramelization. Slathered with butter (although the Mexican contingent in the family use mayo & chile). Best way I know to do corn.

Bill/SFNM

Cogito wrote:What's the consensus on removing the husk/silk and wrapping in foil vs. au naturel?

Personally, while I don't mind both methods, I have a strong preference to grilling/roasting sans foil/husk. To me, the whole point of roasting/grilling is to develop that roast/grilled flavor through exposing the corn to direct heat and allowing it to brown. Otherwise, you might as well just steam it. To me, it's akin to wrapping ribs in foil and throwing them on a grill. Why bother?

I'll use foil/husks if I'm feeling lazy and don't want to keep an eye on the corn. Otherwise, no husks or foil all the way!

LAZ wrote:I've an idea that 525 might be hotter than most stoves got then.

My oven only goes to 525 also. I wonder how hot it would get on "broil?"

I remember when I was a kid that my mother's old gas range had a max temp setting of only 500, so maybe you're right about newer products going higher.

Shucking Corn--Clean Ears Everytime

Shucking Corn--Clean Ears Everytime

In my experience, it is closer to one time out of ten rather than everytime.

ppezalla wrote:

Shucking Corn--Clean Ears Everytime

In my experience, it is closer to one time out of ten rather than everytime.

I've seen that video also and after trying it I'd have to agree

"10 percent of the time it works every time!"

I do like doing the 8 minutes per ear in the microwave. The corn comes out cooked really well in my experience.

I used this technique tonight. One ear, 4 minutes. It didn't slide out as easily as in the video, but it was pretty close. The corn was nicely cooked and it did wind up completely clean.

I don't know if you'll ever get every last piece of silk out from between the kernels by any method, but I like the technique. But then I don't mind hand shucking corn either.

Another vote for steaming corn on the cob in the microwave. I've been doing it for two or three summers now and won't go back to boiling. COTC roasted on the grill doesn't appeal to me; I don't like it that dry or that charred, though I know other people do. I like ears of corns steamed and moist and sprinkled with cracked black pepper and drizzled with butter.

I just picked up some sweet bi-color corn from Didier Farms over the weekend and have been oven-roasting the cobs. They come out perfect every time. While the oven preheats to 350, I remove the outer layers of husk and the top where the silk is, leaving only the lighter, thinner husks to cover the cob. Then I give the cobs a nice soak in cold water until the oven is done preheating. I load the cobs onto both racks in the oven and set the timer for 35 minutes. Give it a try!

I tried the microwave method and it worked perfectly. Very cool. The cob was not the freshest and, either as a result of the method or the age of the cob, the corn was a little soft. I still like grilled, oven roasted, and raw best.

Hi,

I had 100% success from the three ears cooked via microwave today.

Regards,

Brilliant idea. I will try it. While I do love grill roasted corn, the microwave version has worked well for me. I had kept the leaves and tried to pull some of the silk off before microwaving but I will try to do it this way next time. I do not know if roasting corn in the oven is worth it. You do not get the smoky grill flavor, it takes too long. I think if you are going to cook it in the house the microwave is the way to go. I also cook asparagus in the microwave with good success.

Hi,

I was just reading Louisa Chu's blog on WBEZ, when I found this link to Betty Fussell describing how she likes corn.

Regards,