5 Easy Recipes for Butter Bath Corn, the Only Way We’re Cooking Corn This Summer

Welcome to Snapshot Cooking, the home of Kitchn’s easiest recipes. These mini recipes are so simple you can practically cook from the before-and-after snapshot itself.

Let me introduce you to your newest summer corn obsession: butter bath corn. Hear me out, because butter bath corn sounds laborious and luxe, but it’s actually the lazy-ingenious way to boil corn. Popular in the Midwest (where it’s sometimes called milk boiled corn), butter bath corn is essentially a buttery upgrade to basic boiled corn.

Once you’ve got the basics of this four-ingredient recipe down, you’ll see that adding just a few flavor boosters can give you tasty, tender, sweet corn with minimal effort.

• The corn: Each of these recipes calls for 6 halved and husked ears of corn.
• The butter: You’ll need 1 stick of unsalted butter for each batch of butter bath corn.
• The liquid: Classic butter bath corn calls for enough water to cover for boiling, plus one cup of milk (I used whole, but any percentage of dairy milk will work) for flavoring the corn. You can also swap the milk for other flavorful liquids like beer.
• The flavorings: This is where things get creative — butter bath corn can be flavored with everything from dried spices to hot sauce and honey.
• The pot: A large Dutch oven works best for butter bath corn, but you can also cook butter bath corn in the Instant Pot.

Fill a large pot with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup milk, 1 stick unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Carefully add 6 ears husked and halved corn and reduce the heat to medium. Boil for 8 minutes. Use tongs to remove the corn from the butter bath and serve immediately. 

Fill a large pot with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup milk, 1 stick unsalted butter, 6 smashed cloves garlic, 1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Carefully add 6 ears husked and halved corn and reduce the heat to medium. Boil for 8 minutes. Use tongs to remove the corn from the butter bath and serve immediately. 

Fill a large pot with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup beer (IPA or lager), 1 stick unsalted butter, 1/4 cup hot sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Carefully add 6 ears husked and halved corn and reduce the heat to medium. Boil for 8 minutes. Use tongs to remove the corn from the butter bath and serve immediately. 

Fill a large pot with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup milk, 1 stick unsalted butter, 1/2 cup honey, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Carefully add 6 ears husked and halved corn and reduce the heat to medium. Boil for 8 minutes. Use tongs to remove the corn from the butter bath and serve immediately. 

Fill a large pot with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup mayo, 1/2 cup fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Carefully add 6 ears husked and halved corn and reduce the heat to medium. Boil for 8 minutes. Use tongs to remove the corn from the butter bath and serve immediately.