The Easiest Way To Butter Corn On The Cob

Corn and butter are a match made in heaven. In fact, while salt is optional, we'd say it's a crime to eat the former without the latter. Although this pairing makes for bite after heavenly bite, getting there can be a little messy and sometimes requires prep work all on its own. You may need to melt butter completely (which can lead to hot splatters when it's time to eat) or soften it at the very least. But if you don't want to go to the trouble of prepping what's really just a condiment for a side dish, there's one easy method that works in a pinch. 

Simply take a stick of butter straight out of the fridge and place it on a plate. When you're ready to eat, hold your corn over the stick and rotate it so that it gets coated with butter. There is one guideline you'll need to follow here: Your vegetable should be hot off the grill (or stove), since you'll need that heat to melt the butter and get it to stick. But you should end up with as much of it as you want on your cob, with no extra labor required.

While this method is undoubtedly the easiest way to butter your corn, there are a few tips you can follow to make the most of it. Leave those half-used stubs in the fridge and pull out a whole stick of the condiment for your endeavor here, as you'll cover the most of your vegetable's surface area this way. But understand that you will be sacrificing your stick in the process. It's almost impossible to use this method without getting little bits of the veggie in your butter, so you may have to designate any leftovers to be used for this purpose only. Depending on who you're eating with, you may not want to get this messy if people are coming over for dinner — but if it's just your family chowing down, you can proceed.

Once you've dedicated your stick to this cause, you can also take full advantage and season it how you'd like. For instance, give your side dish a flavor boost with taco-spiced butter, which you can easily make by sprinkling on taco seasoning. Mimic melted garlic butter with garlic powder, salt, and parsley. Go for more pizzazz with Old Bay, Tajin, Italian seasoning, curry powder, chili powder, or paprika. Whichever one you choose, leave a shaker on the table so your family can refresh the stick after the top layer has been used up.