Flavorful Sous Vide Corn Recipe with Video
on Oct 16, 2023
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Sous Vide Corn on the Cob is the most flavorful and tender corn I’ve ever had! This sous vide butter-poached corn recipe allows you to transform the kernels into perfect sweet and juicy bites. The best part? The corn is immersed in the buttery goodness during cooking. No more turning and spreading butter multiple times on the cooked corn!
What is sous vide?
Sous vide is a French cooking technique where the food is vacuum-sealed in a bag, then cooked to a very precise temperature in a warm water bath. This technique is known for being a precise and consistent way to evenly cook the food.
Why Sous Vide Corn On The Cob
Sous vide corn on the cob = Perfect tender texture + Best flavor + More Nutrients
Unlike BBQ or boiled corn, sous vide corn is cooked with butter in a vacuum-sealed bag in the water bath where the flavors are enclosed and not diluted by water! Plus, it’s cooked to a precise temperature, taking all the guesswork out of the equation and gives you back free time!
Equipment For Sous Vide Corn
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Fresh Corn: When buying the corn, look for the husks with a nice green sheen, and the tassels on top should be moist and even tacky. Brown spots on the outside or inside are usually warning signs of inferior corn.
- Unsalted Butter: In this recipe, I use unsalted butter so that it’s easy to control the level of salt.
- Salt: For seasoning
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Corn for Sous Vide
Husk the corn and sprinkle with salt.
Step 2: Vacuum seal the bag
Place the corn and butter in a large resealable bag and vacuum seal the bag using the “water displacement” technique.
Step 3: Sous vide corn
Cook in the sous vide water bath at 183°F / 84°C for 30 minutes.
When the timer goes off, remove the corn from the bag.
Serve with more butter if desired.
Tips And Tricks
- It’s very important to keep the corn in a single layer in the bag. DO NOT just pile them in, as they won’t cook properly that way. If your bag is not big enough to hold it all in one layer, you can use multiple bags.
- A vacuum sealer works better for sous vide cooking vegetables. But if you don’t have a vacuum-sealer, you can seal the bag using “water displacement” technique with a regular zip-top bag.
- To prevent the bags from floating, you can use sous vide weights and place them in the bag with your corn to weigh down the bag. Alternatively, use heavy kitchen items such as a saucepan to keep it fully submerged (make sure the seams are above the water!).
Temperature And Time
I recommend cooking sous vide corn at 183°F (84°C) for the best texture. It’s sweet, tender, flavorful, and absolutely perfect.
It takes about 30 minutes to tenderize the corn. You can leave it in the sous vide bath for as long as 2 hours, after which it starts to get too soft and mealy.
How To Serve Corn On The Cob
- Salt and Butter: I love to run a pat of butter over the corn and sprinkle a bit of salt to taste. Alternatively, use garlic butter for a bolder flavor.
- Cheese and Herbs: Sprinkle finely grated parmesan and fresh chives on the corn.
- Mexican Style: My fave is Mexican street corn (elote), which uses mayo or sour cream and is coated with cotija cheese, chili powder and fresh lime.
Ways To Use Leftover Corn
You can add corn to so many dishes and the choices are endless. Here are some of my favorites:
- Cornbread
- Corn Nuggets
- Mexican Corn Salad
- Corn Fritter
- Corn chowder
FAQs
How to prevent corn from floating in the water bath
Corn is easy to float during sous vide cooking, as it’s fairly lightweight. To avoid this, I use sous vide weights to hold down the bag and keep it submerged throughout cooking.
Should I brine corn before sous vide cooking?
If you want to switch up your corn on the cob, give brining a try. While it’s not necessary, brining infuses extra flavor before sous vide cooking.
Can you sous vide frozen corn on the cob?
Yes, you can sous vide cook frozen corn on the cob without thawing. Just proceed with the recipe and add an extra 30 minutes to the cooking time.
Sous Vide Other Vegetables
Sous vide vegetables are perfect side dishes for your entrée such as steak or chicken! Here are more sous vide vegetable recipes you’ll like:
Sous Vide Corn Recipe (+VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 4 ears corn on the cob
- 4 teaspoons butter, unsalted, plus more for serving
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large container or pot with water, attach the sous vide precision cooker and set the temperature to 183°F / 84°C.
- Husk the corn and season with salt.
- Place corn and butter in a large resealable bag or vacuum seal bag. Arrange corn in one single layer. (If your bag is not large enough, use multiple bags).
- Seal the bag using the water displacement technique* or a vacuum sealer.
- (Optional) Add sous vide weights to the bag to weigh it down.
- Once the temperature has reached the target temperature, place the sealed bag in the water bath and set the timer for 30 minutes. Make sure to submerge the corn completely in the water. As the vacuum-sealed bag with corn tends to float, if you didn't add sous vide weights to the bag, you'll need a heavy kitchen item (I used a saucepan) to weight it down.
- When the time goes off, remove the corn from the bag.
- Serve with more butter if desired.
Video
Notes
- * Water displacement method: Place the corn and butter in a zip-top bag and seal all but one corner of the bag. Slowly place it in the water bath, and make sure everything below the zip-line is covered by water. Then seal the rest of the bag.
- If you use frozen corn, follow the same instructions as cooking the fresh corn, and add extra 30 minutes of cooking time in the sous vide cooker.
- You can add aromatics such as cilantro or garlic, etc., sprinkle them sparingly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods used.
