How to Smoke Corn on the Cob with Husks

How to smoke corn on the cob with husks perfectly on your grill. Tender fresh sweet corn smoked right in the husk makes the perfect side dish with any meal. Traeger corn for the win.

Smoked Corn

Tender kernels cooked right along side your beef or chicken main dish, it comes out perfect every time we make it. We like it in the husks but you can certainly make smoked corn on the cob without husks too, just wrap in foil instead. The latter can have butter and seasonings added so it all soaks right in.

If you have only boiled water to get this tender you are in for a real treat. It not only tastes better but doesn’t lose nutritional value submerged in water. You can use an electric smoker or pellet grill to make this. Set them right next to your smoked pork steaks and have yourself the best dinner ever.

To get your meats absolutely perfect we have this printable meat smoking chart to refer to so each and every time it will be fork tender.

Traeger Corn on the Cob

Use what brand you have at home. We started with an inexpensive Charbroil electric smoker and now we have a larger Traeger. Either way this timing and temperature works great

• When you think of summertime do you think of barbecuing? We do! Well that and smoking “all the things”.
• There isn’t anything better than a well seasoned hunk of meat thrown in the smoker. You will need an easy side dish to go with it though!

Why not cook them together so dinner is done at the same time and everything is perfectly tender and delicious.  Corn is kinda’ the best too. It’s cheap year round, and I haven’t found anyone who doesn’t like it. Easy to find in the summertime like you see here below, fresh is always best.

Smoked Corn on the Cob

Of course you can boil it the “old fashioned” way, or make Instant Pot corn. But when the weather gets warm and we uncover the pool we are all about using our electric smoker. We just bought a Green Mountain pellet grill / smoker too! Whether you have a Traeger or other brand, this corn recipe will work great.

What temperature to smoke corn on the cob

First you’re going to grab a bunch of corn with the husks still on, a must. You can tweak the temperature depending on what else is on the grates for sure and just adjust for more time if lower and less if higher but 350F. is ideal if you ask us.

• For Traeger smoked corn on the cob with husks
• You’ll want to preheat your smoker to 350 degrees so it’s ready when you are.
• If you’re cooking anything else you’ll want to time it so the last hour the corn will be popped on.

Then as you can see above you’re going to cut off the very tip so it is somewhat open at the end but don’t peel anything back.

Smoking Corn on the Cob with Husks

Now just throw them right on the grate and close the lid. Give them a good hour to cook so the kernels get nice and tender. That is the minimum amount of time for med./large ears of corn. I prefer along the lines of 1 hour 30 minutes to get them a bit more tender. Once you make smoked corn on the cob once you’ll be able to determine whether your optimal time is an hour or a bit more.

• Keeping the lid closed is important as well. If you lift the lid at all it will take that much longer for your grill to get back up to 350 degrees. Resist the urge my friends.

Smoked Corn on the Cob without Husks

If you’d rather take the outside off at the beginning you certainly can. Instead wrap a few in foil with some butter and salt inside there. It will take about the same timing that way. Why is smoked corn is the best corn side dish

1. You don’t have to heat up your house when it’s summertime.
2. There is very little prep. Leaving the husks on saves a lot of time and mess.
3. Removing the husk after cooking is easier than if it were uncooked.

If you have a compost bin you can throw them right in there and it works great.

How to Smoke Corn on the Cob on a Pellet Grill

Then just pull husks back and it is kinda’ a nice holder so your hands don’t get too hot. Remove the silks (they kinda’ all come off with the husks, butter, sprinkle on some salt and pepper on your kernels and bite right in!

• We like to cook this during the last hour or so when we’re making our smoked hamburgers or bacon and cheese stuffed and smoked meatloaf recipe.
• Our smoked brats are a great summertime meal too.

It’s a perfect pairing and talk about the ultimate barbecue feast! You can also melt in a small bowl a butter mixture with some garlic salt and pepper so it can be dipped right in. We do go over how to cook frozen corn on the cob but typically you cannot find cobs with the husks still in tact. In that case you could still do it but would need to wrap them in foil with butter and let them defrost, cook that way.

What you will need

• A smoker
• Pellets or wood chips to put inside
• Corn on the cob with the husks in tact
• Butter and salt when it’s done

Above, here are the things you’re going to need. There isn’t much. If you wrap in foil you can add the butter and seasonings right in there at the get go, if not just add later.

How long does it take to smoke corn in the husk on a smoker?

You need to leave about an hour to get the kernels tender but still a pop to them still. I typically pair this with a meat so everything gets done at the same time. If your planning on steaks and those only take 15 minutes then just add those later.

1. Preheat your smoker to 350 degrees F. Use wood pellets or chips as required for the model you have.
2. Cut end of corn off so top is a bit open, about 1.5″.
3. Leave husk in tact for best results.
4. Allow to cook for 60-90 minutes. Timing will depend on how tender you like your kernels. 60 minutes is minimum and good but 90 will give you much softer corn on the cob. Great cooked alongside meat.
5. Remove from grill and allow to cool slightly so you can remove husks easier.
6. Peel husks back and discard silk.
7. Butter and salt your corn and enjoy!

If you have those with braces of course you’ll have to cut the kernels off for them before eating. 😉 If you put it into a bowl they will get caught easier and not roll all over the place.

Here are a few questions you might have before you get going. You can choose leaving the husks on, which we do, or taking them off first.

Other ways to cook corn on the cob

• This is how to cook fresh corn 4 other ways too
• And you are going to love our fast version of air fryer corn