Butter Bath Corn (Milk Boiled Corn on the Cob)

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Once you try simmering fresh summer corn in a buttery milk bath, you'll see exactly why this is truly the best way to cook corn! These two simple staples amplify corn's natural sweetness, and only takes ten minutes to make each kernel salty, juicy, and oh-so-buttery. Milk-boiled corn is a great side dish for cookouts, a summertime dinner, or holiday entertaining!

My summers at my grandma's house in Georgia always included juicy peach trees, sun-warmed watermelon vines on the fence, massive sunflowers and incredibly tall corn stalks. And salting slugs (ugh) but that is going to be one of your jobs in the garden when you're 8, right? 

There is nothing like cooking corn that you helped grow, shuck all the husk and silk from the tender little kernels, and throw into a pot of milk and butter on your grandma's old stove. I swear that was the best corn I've ever eaten.

Those memories are the best, and they are the reason why I brought this recipe to the blog back in 2015! The recipe has been updated with better, clearer instructions, tips, tricks, and the reason why my husband wants corn on the shopping list every week: my ultimate corn compound butter!

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Butter Bath Corn on the Cob

Boiling corn is a classic thing. It's not a seafood boil without little sections of corn on the cob soaking up beer-laden broth, coated in Cajun seasoning or Old Bay with shellfish and sausage. It's not summer without sweet corn coated in butter. It's not Thanksgiving without corn, either.

Boiling corn in milk is an old southern secret that gives the best results: infusing each kernel with richer flavor and amplifying the natural sweetness of the corn. 

And the best part is that you let the corn soak in that milk and butter bath for less than ten minutes. Yes, y'all. It's done in 8-10 minutes and now you have the best juicy, sweet, tender-crisp corn you've ever eaten!

To make it even better, slather your delicious corn in our easy butter: a simple and easy thing I throw in my food processor to do all the hard work, filled with fresh chopped herbs, garlic, and citrus!

Ingredients Needed to Make Butter Bath Corn

Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Corn on the Cob - you want some great summer corn! If you don't know how to choose great corn, I'll tell you how below.
• Whole Milk - skim and low fat just don't work the same, the fat in the milk really makes this recipe.
• Salted Butter - a stick of butter for the boil, and for the butter mixture. We want this corn to have a ton of buttery flavor!
• Kosher Salt and Granulated Sugar - If you suspect your corn may be a little lacking in the sweet department (aka it's a bit older) the sugar will help give it a boost.
• Softened butter, garlic powder, fresh herbs, lemon zest and juice - this is all you need for a tasty compound butter! Throw it into a food processor and blend, blend, blend!

How to Make Milk Boiled Corn on the Cob

1. Remove the husk from the corn and remove the silks, if there are any.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil.
3.  Add the milk, butter, and sugar into your boiling water, stir to help that stick of butter melt. Once it's steaming hot and simmering gently again, reduce heat to medium low and add the corn to the hot water.
4. Simmer the corn for about 8 minutes (and while it's simmering, whip up the compound butter!), then remove the corn from the milk and butter bath and brush corn with plenty of that compound butter and salt to taste.

Variations and Recipe Tips

• Thanksgiving Flavors - make the corn even more flavorful and festive by adding herbs and garlic to the butter bath. Chop up rosemary, sage, thyme, and parsley and put it right into the butter bath with a few cloves of garlic.
• Broth it up - instead of boiling plain water, use vegetable, chicken, or turkey broth (or Better than Bouillon Base in the water) to give the sweet corn a savory touch. 
• Hot Honey Corn - add some hot honey to the broth and compound butter for a sweet heat!
• If you cut your corn into pieces, you're looking at a cooking time of about 5-7 minutes
• A secret to removing silk with ease - use a slightly damp paper towel to help lift the silks from the corn without crushing the kernels.

How to Pick Great Corn in the Husk

No matter where you're picking up fresh ears of corn --at the grocery store, farmers' market, or in your grandma's garden-- you want to pick the best fresh sweet corn you can.These are my tips for picking fresh tasting perfect corn every time!

1. Check the Husk - no need to peel it, we're looking for corn husk that is bright green and firmly pressed against the kernels. The husk shouldn't be wilty or dried out, or worse -- full of holes or moldy.
2. Look at the Tassels - the strings of silk that hang out the top of the corn husk are the tassels, and the lighter the color means the corn is freshly picked. Bright yellow, white or even light brown tassels mean fresh corn but avoid dark brown and sticky tassels.
3. Feel the Corn Cob - a great ear of corn should be heavy for its size, the cob should feel full of kernels, and we should have plump kernels beneath the husk. That's going to be a juicy piece of corn.

Storage and Reheating

• Store the leftover corn, either wrapped tightly in aluminum foil or in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Rewarm in the microwave (without the aluminum!) or in another milk bath for a few minutes until warmed through. Serve with butter!

Equipment

• Large Stock Pot or Dutch Oven - you're going to need a large pot to fit all that corn.
• Sharp Knife - to cut the corn into more manageable pieces for little hands

FAQs

More Tasty Corn Recipes

Butter and Milk Boiled Corn on the Cob

By: Eden Westbrook

4.88 from 8 votes

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Milk boiled corn on the cob is the ultimate way to have the most tender and buttery corn. Once you try simmering fresh summer corn in a buttery milk bath, you'll see exactly why this is truly the best way to cook corn!

Prep Time: 3 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 minutes mins

Total Time: 11 minutes mins

8 servings

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 4 corn on the cob, silk and husk removed, cut in half
• ▢ 8 cups water
• ▢ 2 cups whole milk
• ▢ ½ cup salted butter, that's 8 tablespoons or 1 stick
• ▢ 2 tablespoon sugar
• ▢ Kosher Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

Garlic Herb Compound Butter

• ▢ ½ cup salted butter
• ▢ ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• ▢ 2 tablespoon parsley leaves
• ▢ 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions 

• Bring water to a boil in a large pot with a fitting lid. Once boiling, add the milk, butter, and sugar to the water and bring back to a boil.
  8 cups water, 2 cups whole milk, ½ cup salted butter, 2 tablespoon sugar
• Once all the sugar is dissolved in the boiling water, turn the heat to low. Add your corn then put the lid on the pot for 6-8 minutes. Leave it be and make your compound butter.
  4 corn on the cob
• After your corn is finished cooking, season with salt and pepper and serve with generous amount of the compound butter.
  Kosher Salt and Black Pepper

Make the Garlic Herb Compound Butter

• Add all the compound ingredients to the bowl of your food processor and spin on low until the herbs are chopped and everything is incorporated into the butter.
  ½ cup salted butter, ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, 2 tablespoon parsley leaves, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Remove the butter from the food processor and put into a serving bowl.

Last step!Be sure to snap a pic and share on Instagram #sweetteaandthyme and tag me at @sweet_tea_thyme so we can all see!

Recipe Notes

Storage and Reheating

• Store the leftover corn, either wrapped tightly in aluminum foil or in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Rewarm in the microwave (without the aluminum!) or in another milk bath for a few minutes until warmed through. Serve with butter!

Variations and Recipe Tips

• • Thanksgiving Flavors - make the corn even more flavorful and festive by adding herbs and garlic to the butter bath. Chop up rosemary, sage, thyme, and parsley and put it right into the butter bath with a few cloves of garlic.

• • Broth it up - instead of boiling plain water, use vegetable, chicken, or turkey broth (or Better than Bouillon Base in the water) to give the sweet corn a savory touch. 

• • Hot Honey Corn - add some hot honey to the broth and compound butter for a sweet heat!

• • If you cut your corn into pieces, you're looking at a cooking time of about 5-7 minutes

• • A secret to removing silk with ease - use a slightly damp paper towel to help lift the silks from the corn without crushing the kernels.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1g, Calories: 50kcal (3%), Carbohydrates: 11g (4%), Protein: 1g (2%), Fat: 1g (2%), Saturated Fat: 0.1g (1%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Trans Fat: 0.004g, Sodium: 19mg (1%), Potassium: 122mg (3%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 6g (7%), Vitamin A: 84IU (2%), Vitamin C: 3mg (4%), Calcium: 8mg (1%), Iron: 0.2mg (1%)