Recipe: 6-Minute Corn on the Cob

You heard me...six minutes.  When I learned to cook corn on the cob, I was told to put it into a huge pot of boiling water and boil the crap out of it--for a full 10 minutes.  The result, all too often, is corn where the kernels loose that nice fresh snap that I consider the hallmark of good summertime corn on the cob.  Not only that, but it takes forever for that much water to come to a boil, so your 10 minutes easily turns into 20 or 30.   I knew there had to be another way...and there is!

The secret?  The pressure cooker (yeah...you probably saw that one coming).  That handy-dandy tool that I love so much and that so many people are afraid of is the secret to instant, great-tasting, snappy fresh corn on the cob.  Okay, so maybe it's more like 8-10 minutes when you include time to come up to pressure, but that's still okay in my book.

Now, if only someone would just ome up with a way to get it shucked and remove all the silk...

6-Minute Corn on the Cob

6 to 8 ears of sweet corn
1 cup tap water
salt and butter to taste

1) Shuck the corn, rinsing it under cold water if needed to remove the silk.
2) Make sure each piece will fit in your pressure cooker, cutting in half if necessary.
3) If your pressure cooker has a steamer tray insert, now's the time to use it.  Just lay it in the bottom.  Mine doesn't have one and it works just fine without.

4) Stack the corn in the pan like Lincoln Logs and pour the water in.  The fewer ears that touch the water, the better but don't be fussy.
5) Cover the pan, attach any jigglers or do-dads needed for your particular pot and bring up to 15 pounds of pressure (follow the instructions in your user manual).
6) Cook at 15 pounds for EXACTLY 6 minutes and perform a rapid release (again, read the directions--some pots have a special button for this).
7) Open the pot and carefully remove the corn to waiting dinner plates and eaters.  Coat in butter and salt and enjoy piping-hot.

Note: If the corn is ready before the rest of dinner, no worries!  Release the pressure and open the pot.  Rest the cover back on the pot and the corn will keep warm without continuing to cook for quite awhile.  I like to serve seconds this way--right out of the pot.  After all, you can't eat just one!