The Unique Way Stanley Tucci Butters His Corn Will Have You Drooling

At this point, Stanley Tucci might be nearly as well-known for being a foodie as he is for being an actor. After all, he has authored several cookbooks and even starred in a show about traveling around Italy to explore its regions and cuisine. Tucci definitely has a few food tips up his sleeve, and while corn on the cob might not make the list of foods he can't live without, which includes olive oil and Swiss chard,he has a particular go-to method for buttering corn that you may want to try.

Typically, buttering an ear of corn is a pretty messy process — you're essentially just smearing butter all over the piping-hot corn, working quickly to avoid burning your hands and hoping it doesn't all drip off the corn immediately. Tucci revealed an alternate approach in his memoir "Taste: My Life Through Food" that he learned from his Italian family. Start by generously buttering a piece of homemade bread, then treat the bread almost like a buttery cloth by rubbing it all over the corn. The approach protects your hands, eliminates the mess, and works like a dream. As a bonus, it yields a second snack since you wouldn't dream of wasting that bread afterwards. You can pair your perfectly buttered corn with homemade bread that's, as Tucci explains, "now saturated with the melted butter, salt, and sweetness from the buttered kernels."

Stanley Tucci's corn-buttering technique is a perfect starting point, but to truly make your corn a show-stopper, there are a few other factors you may want to consider. First, to ensure your corn on the cob is extra flavorful, try soaking it in a salty brine for a few minutes prior to grilling. Butter certainly helps add flavor to just about anything, but in a dish with so few ingredients, every detail makes a difference. And while Tucci likely uses a relatively neutral-tasting Italian bread for his hack, feel free to experiment with different flavor profiles by using breads that pack a bit more punch. For example, a jalapeño-infused loaf might add a delightful hint of heat to your corn on the cob, and its flavor would nicely complement the slight sweetness from the corn.

If you're looking to branch out even further, there are a few other corn toppings to consider, from pesto to sweet chili sauce, that would likewise work deliciously with bread. Slather it on both the bread and the corn for a more cohesive treat. Finally, don't be afraid to add some literal heat into the equation to elevate both snacks. Once your perfectly buttered corn is in hand and the bread has done its duty, toss the flavorful, buttery slice on the grill to toast up a bit before eating.