Stanley Tucci's Clever Method For Buttering Corn Will Change Your Summer BBQs

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Does any cookout side dish sing the song of summer quite like corn on the cob? Golden yellow and packed with tight rows of plump kernels waiting to burst with sweet juice, it's a treat that pairs perfectly with grilled meat, potato salad, and the faint smell of swimming pool chlorine lingering in the air. Turns out, however, that you've been missing out on the best way of getting a generous, even coat of butter all over your ear of corn. Actor Stanley Tucci described in his memoirs, "Taste: My Life Through Food," how his family buttered corn: they applied a thick layer of butter to a slice of homemade bread, wrapped the slice of bread around the ear of corn, and twisted. Not only did the corn get absolutely slathered in salty, creamy butter, but they also got to eat the buttery, corn-infused bread afterwards.

We've heard of cooking corn on the cob in the air fryer and we've even dabbled in the hack involving boiling your corn in butter for max flavor, but just the thought of Tucci's game-changing bread and corn trick has our mouths watering. The Tucci family used homemade bread served warm at the table for maximum butter absorption, but you can replicate the method easily at home even if you haven't turned on the oven recently.

Imagine our surprise when we learned that Stanley Tucci wasn't even the only person buttering their corn with a slice of bread! Through the magic of YouTube, we saw the hack in action in the 1983 film "War Games," in which a character uses a humble slice of white sandwich loaf to do the trick. On Reddit, commenters reported having used bread to butter corn since childhood, which the uninitiated joking compared to black magic. We've seen this done in Facebook reels as well, proving that the corn does, in fact, end up thickly painted in a shiny slick of melted butter, just ready to devour.

To replicate this at home, first make sure your stick of butter is room temperature to get it nice and spreadable. Margarine or another spread will go on easiest, but many will argue that's a culinary sin. Instead, make sure you get the best butter brand at the grocery store for the full experience, as this is a butter-forward hack that really invites you to use the finest materials. You also want your corn to be piping hot, whether it's been boiled, grilled, or roasted. Finally, don't skimp on applying the butter to the bread. Picture a coating of peanut butter or cream cheese — that's the schmear level you are aiming for. The same slice can be used for multiple ears of corn, or you can use a fresh one every time. You'll soon learn that eating the sweet, messy, buttery bread afterwards is almost as big a treat.