How To Shuck Corn Without Making A Scary, Hairy Messy Disaster

Actually? No shucking required. Hurrah!

Corn on the cob is the perfect summer side dish, but preparing it can be a shucking mess.

Fortunately, there's a simple way to skip the untidiness and enjoy fresh corn. The trick is to use your microwave first. No shucking required.

As Youtuber Carl Blemming shows in the video above, start with a cob still in its husk -- that's the outer green shell that you're used to stripping off -- and place it in the microwave.

Nuke each cob for three to four minutes. You can stick a couple of cobs in at once, but be sure to increase the cook time accordingly. (If you put in two cobs, microwave for six to eight minutes.)

Once it's cooked, remove the corn with gloves or oven mitts -- it's going to be hot. Then, cut off the shank -- and a bit of the actual cob -- with a sharp knife.

Now you're ready to remove the cob from its cocoon. While holding on from the uncut end, shake the corn out of its husk while leading it along with the traction of your knife.

The silk with remain neatly inside the husk, and you'll be left with an immaculately clean ear of corn, ready to be cooked up.

How you decide to prepare this seasonal delight is, of course, solely up to you. Need some ideas? Start here:

1
Smoked Paprika Corn With Bacon
Foodie Crush
Get the Smoked Paprika Corn with Bacon recipe from Foodie Crush
2
Pasta With Corn, Slow-Cooked Tomatoes, And Garlic Confit
Phyllis Grant/Food52
3
Tarragon Corn Chowder
Simply Recipes
Get the Tarragon Corn Chowder recipe from Simply Recipes
4
Summer Crostini With Whipped Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese
How Sweet It Is
5
Grilled Corn And Pasilla Pepper Salad
Foodiecrush
6
Savory Masa Corn Cakes With Green Chile
James Ransom/Food52
7
Easy Grilled Corn Tomato Salad
How Sweet It Is
Get the Easy Grilled Corn Tomato Salad recipe from How Sweet It Is
8
Corn & Smoked Salmon Bisque
Adventures in Cooking
Get the Corn & Smoked Salmon Bisque recipe from Adventures in Cooking
9
Sweet Corn And Bacon Chicken Salad
How Sweet It Is
Get the Sweet Corn and Bacon Chicken Salad recipe from How Sweet It Is
10
Sweet Corn Polenta With Eggplant Sauce
Food52
Get the Sweet Corn Polenta with Eggplant Sauce recipe from Genius Recipes via Food52
11
Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
Foodie Crush
Get the Slow Cooker Creamed Corn recipe from Foodie Crush
12
Okra And Sweet Corn Purloo
Thirschfeld/Food52
Get the Okra and Sweet Corn Purloo recipe from Thirschfeld via Food52
13
BLT Pizza With Grilled Corn + Crumbled Feta
How Sweet It Is
14
Corn, Bacon And Clam Stew
Food52
Get the Corn, Bacon, and Clam Stew recipe from Matt Greco via Food52
15
Mini Roasted Poblano Risotto Cakes With Grilled Corn Salsa
How Sweet It Is
16
Sweetcorn & Bacon Soup
Verses from my Kitchen
Get the Sweetcorn & Bacon Soup recipe from Verses from my Kitchen
17
Spicy Corn And Jalapeño Dip
Bev Cooks
18
Chili Lime Corn On The Cob
A Beautiful Mess
Get the Chili Lime Corn on the Cob recipe from A Beautiful Mess
19
Sweet Corn, Red Pepper And Green Chile Empanadas
Bev Cooks
20
Tarragon Corn
Simply Recipes
Get the Tarragon Corn recipe from Simply Recipes
21
Corn Pop
James Ransom/Food52
Get the Corn Pop recipe from meraviglia via Food52
22
Double Corn, Quinoa & Cheddar Muffins
James Ransom/Food52
Get the Double Corn, Quinoa & Cheddar Muffins recipe from boulangere via Food52
23
Corn, Goat Cheese, Basi And Lemon Tart
dashandbella
24
Sweet Corn + Jalapeno Hummus
How Sweet It Is
Get the Sweet Corn + Jalapeno Hummus recipe from How Sweet It Is
25
Smoky Ham-And-Corn Chowder
Yunhee Kim/Food&Wine
26
Summer Chickpea Salad With Honey Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
How Sweet It Is
28
Black Bean, Corn And Avocado Salad
Annie's Eats

Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE