diff --git a/lib/_http_outgoing.js b/lib/_http_outgoing.js
index 7681222cf37fc6..d2a3352f080d60 100644
--- a/lib/_http_outgoing.js
+++ b/lib/_http_outgoing.js
@@ -112,35 +112,29 @@ OutgoingMessage.prototype.setTimeout = function(msecs, callback) {
 // any messages, before ever calling this.  In that case, just skip
 // it, since something else is destroying this connection anyway.
 OutgoingMessage.prototype.destroy = function(error) {
-  if (this.socket)
+  if (this.socket) {
+    // If the socket is corked from a write, uncork it before destroying it.
+    if (this.socket._writableState.corked)
+      this.socket.uncork();
+
     this.socket.destroy(error);
-  else
+  } else {
     this.once('socket', function(socket) {
       socket.destroy(error);
     });
+  }
 };
 
 
 // This abstract either writing directly to the socket or buffering it.
 OutgoingMessage.prototype._send = function(data, encoding, callback) {
-  // This is a shameful hack to get the headers and first body chunk onto
-  // the same packet. Future versions of Node are going to take care of
-  // this at a lower level and in a more general way.
+  // Send the headers before the body. OutgoingMessage#write should cork
+  // the stream before calling #_send, batching them in the same packet.
   if (!this._headerSent) {
-    if (typeof data === 'string' &&
-        encoding !== 'hex' &&
-        encoding !== 'base64') {
-      data = this._header + data;
-    } else {
-      this.output.unshift(this._header);
-      this.outputEncodings.unshift('latin1');
-      this.outputCallbacks.unshift(null);
-      this.outputSize += this._header.length;
-      if (typeof this._onPendingData === 'function')
-        this._onPendingData(this._header.length);
-    }
+    this._writeRaw(this._header, 'latin1', null);
     this._headerSent = true;
   }
+
   return this._writeRaw(data, encoding, callback);
 };
 
@@ -461,6 +455,13 @@ OutgoingMessage.prototype.write = function(chunk, encoding, callback) {
   // signal the user to keep writing.
   if (chunk.length === 0) return true;
 
+  // By corking the socket and uncorking after a tick, we manage to
+  // batch writes together, i.e. the header with the body.
+  if (this.connection) {
+    this.connection.cork();
+    process.nextTick(connectionCorkNT, this.connection);
+  }
+
   var len, ret;
   if (this.chunkedEncoding) {
     if (typeof chunk === 'string' &&
@@ -477,10 +478,6 @@ OutgoingMessage.prototype.write = function(chunk, encoding, callback) {
       else
         len = chunk.length;
 
-      if (this.connection && !this.connection.corked) {
-        this.connection.cork();
-        process.nextTick(connectionCorkNT, this.connection);
-      }
       this._send(len.toString(16), 'latin1', null);
       this._send(crlf_buf, null, null);
       this._send(chunk, encoding, null);
@@ -670,12 +667,11 @@ OutgoingMessage.prototype._flushOutput = function _flushOutput(socket) {
   var output = this.output;
   var outputEncodings = this.outputEncodings;
   var outputCallbacks = this.outputCallbacks;
-  socket.cork();
+
   for (var i = 0; i < outputLength; i++) {
     ret = socket.write(output[i], outputEncodings[i],
                        outputCallbacks[i]);
   }
-  socket.uncork();
 
   this.output = [];
   this.outputEncodings = [];