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ears of corn on the cob cooked and stacked with butter on top
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How To Cook Corn on the Cob

Learn how to cook fresh corn on the cob so it is sweet, tender and delicious.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 6 ears of corn
Author Susie Weinrich

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 6 fresh ears of corn
  • water

Serving

Instructions

Prepping & Cleaning Corn on the Cob

  • Starting at the top of the corn cob where the silk is peeking out of the husk, split the silk and husk into two sections and slightly peel open.
  • Then pull the silk/husk from the corn in sections, ripping it at the bottom and removing it from the corn cob.
    Discard the silk and husk.
  • Run the corn on the cob under water to give it a quick clean and remove excess silk.

Boiling Corn

  • Place a large pot of salted water on the stove over medium high heat, bring to a boil.
    Pro Tip: salt the water generously, like you would with pasta.
  • Add the cleaned corn, boil for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally so all the corn is submerged in the water.
  • The corn is done when the kernels are bright yellow, plump and juicy.
  • Remove from the water and place on a plate for serving.

Serving

  • Serve with butter and kosher salt on the side for seasoning.
  • Optionally if you are serving a lot of corn on the cob, drain the pot, add the corn back to the hot pot, add a few tablespoons of butter and dashes of kosher salt. Pop the lid on and lightly shake the pot to butter/salt the corn.
    Serve straight out of the pot with tongs!

Notes

INSTANT POT: If you are an Instant Pot lover, pop over to this recipe for Instant Pot Corn on the Cob!
TIPS FOR CHOOSING GREAT SWEET CORN:
    1. My favorite way is to slightly peel back the husk and silk from the ear. If the corn kernels are plump and yellow/white ALL the way to the TOP then you have a good ear. If there is just husk with no corn, try again!
    1. Look for large ears of corn that have light green husk around the outside, not dried or shriveled.
    1. Another good sign is if the “silk” is slightly damp and yellowish in color. It can be dried at the very top but shouldn’t be dead and dried all the way into the cob.
    1. Use your nose! If the corn smells like sweet corn, that’s a good sign.
    1. And always (this is gross)… look for bugs or worms at the top of the corn cob when you pull the husk back.
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