Boiled Corn on the Cob
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Milk boiled corn! Truly THE ONLY way to cook corn on the cob (in an epic butter bath of course)! So buttery so sweet!
A butter bath to cook up all your fresh summer corn on the cob in 30 minutes or less? YES YES YES. Where do we sign up?
No, but really, this milk-butter bath is simply epic here. It doesn’t require too many ingredients (nor much effort). And if you have some really really sweet corn this season, you can absolutely opt out of the brown sugar.
But if you want to make this all year round (and you don’t have much faith in the corn), the sugar will make all the difference here.
No need to slather on that softened butter either. The butter bath has taken care of all that work for you. Simply garnish with chives (and season with s+p if needed) and serve.

Boiled Corn on the Cob
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, halved
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 6 ears corn, husks removed and halved
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Combine 4 cups water, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in milk, butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil; working carefully, add corn, reduce heat and simmer until just tender, about 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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can something else be used instead of milk?
i love corn i love butter n i love tasty food n playing around
i just dont like milk or how it smells esp when hot
My new favorite way to make corn on the cob
!
I had some buttermilk powder to use up, so I reconstituted it and used it in place of milk. Delicious!
Pacific NW girl here and I agree with the person from the mid-West…we SHUCK corn! LOL
That said, I think the leftover broth from this (and some of the corn) would make a dynamite salmon chowder. I’m going to be cooking corn like this for sure and the salmon run is on now, so some good eating is on the way! Mary
I make this for my picky 12 year old and picky husband and they LOVE it! Thanks
Have you used the milk that the corn was boiled in for anything after? Like use it in a milk bread or chowder recipe? Just curious?
Do you think this could be made with almond milk instead of whole milk? I have a milk allergy so I only use almond milk.
Question..so you boil with the 4 cups of water and then..font drain the water and just add the milk and butter to the water?
DAMN RIGHT ITS DAMN DELICIOUS.. lol
Thank You
Julio Covington aka
Poppa J⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The recipe was amazing. But I did the substitute of my own and it turned out beautiful I did everything according to the recipe except for the milk I added sweet condensed milk one cup and one cup hot water and that’s what I added instead of milk.
Amazingly delicious!
I love cooking with butter and cream, so naturally I glomed on to this recipe and was not disappointed! In fact, I’m going to double the butter next time! And use cream instead of milk. Like the ideas to save the broth for soups or for cooking potatoes or other veggies! Thanks everybody!
That’s a great idea! I would hate to pour the delicious goodness of the bath away. I might try cooking some small Dutch potatoes in there after the corn has cooked. Thanks for the tip!!!
Excellent. I followed the recipe except for the chives which I did not have, put honey in instead of brown sugar but it was still great. After I took the corn out I put in some peeled Yukon potatoes diced at 1 to 1 1/2 inches and let them simmer and they were delicious as well!
This was absolutely delicious. We normally grill or smoke corn. But this has become my new favorite way to cook corn on the cob. It was so simple and delicous. I’d give this recipe 10 stars if I could! 🙂
Is there a way to make this in a crockpot? Thank you!
Omg
I’ve tried this recipe before and it’s very good except I used old bay seasoning, delicious
Wow! super recipe. You made my day!
Love the corn this way. Great recipe
I quest that I will try this recipe, sounds tasty.
Think she meant to unhusk the corn or remove the husk, also you can see by the picture it is unhusked or dehusked, if that’s even a word.. but love the butter bath corn.
S
Midwestern girl, here. You shuck corn! 🙂
do we have to turn them halfway to ensure corn is properly cooked thru?
Love all the recipes
This is very easy and very good. I did cook my corn for 3 extra min to make more tender for grandson.
Have not made yet b/c i’m not sure ingredients are correct. Garlic is not on the list of ingredients but are mentioned in cooking directions.
I will still make it b/c my mouth is watering to try it.
The garlic is listed first above a pictured ad!! I really looked and saw it…thank you for the heads up!
The recipe is printed incorrectly it should be husked corn not unhusked. Fabulous recipe so good!
Most delicious corn. Full of flavor. Will cook again
Looks amazing. I am a big fan of your recipes…Question…do you think this recipe would be delicious using corn off the cob? Thanks
Delicious. I’ve been boiling corn like this for many years. It was my Grandmother’s way. I’ve switched out the garlic occasionally for cumin and smoked paprika, or Mrs. DASH Onion and Herb blend. Topped with fresh chopped cilantro also good. Thanks for publishing this!
Love your recipes!
I haven’t made this yet but wondering if the stock can be repurposed into a chowder?
Thinking chicken and corn chowder?
I was thinking the same thing! Seems a shame to waste it!
Donna…maybe potato chowder with carrots, onion and celery. There are several chowder recipes on this site that I will experiment with using left over stock from this recipe.