Barbecue season is well underway, and with a brand new grill in my life, every time I am perusing the web I am looking at new barbecue recipes to try. One recipe that seemed to consistently pop up when digging into the barbecue world was Mexican street corn. Known as elote in Mexico, it is essentially grilled or boiled corn on the cob, and is usually slathered with mayonnaise, butter, rolled in cojita cheese, then sprinkled with salt, ground chile, and squirted with lime. There are so many different ways to make it, and in my opinion it is the best way to eat corn on the cob. In the Southern and central urban zones of Mexico, ready-to-eat boiled elotes are usually sold by street vendors or in stands, but in the rest of Mexico elotes are more frequently sold in stores or restaurants. The elotes are boiled in hot water or grilled over coals and condiments of the customer’s choosing are added when sold.
Now seeing as street food is pretty much the main thing I am looking for while traveling, I was so surprised when I realized that even though I have spent a good amount of time in Mexico, I have never made it nor had it. Recently, my world changed as did corn on the cob..forever. Given what I knew and read about Mexican street corn, I decided to make my own rendition and I have to say, it was pretty damn good. Now like I said, you can make it how you’d like, but if you are looking for a solid recipe, this one isn’t too shabby.
Elote: Amazingly Addictive Mexican Street Style Corn
Ingredients
- 3-4 of the freshest, sweetest ears of corn you can find
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cups crumbled cojita cheese (buy in block form then crumble with your hands)
- 1/3 cup chipotle mayo (I bought mine from Whole Foods, but chile powder mixed with mayo works)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
- chile powder
- salt
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to about 350 F.
- Pull back most of the husks of corn (not all) and soak the ears of corn in water for about 15 minutes. This will help the corn to steam inside the husks
- Mix the chopped garlic with the chipotle mayo.
- Crumble the cojita cheese into a shallow dish, and mix with the chopped half bunch of cilantro.
- Grill the corn until the husks become very dark and grill marks begin to appear on the corn kernels.
- Remove corn from grill and remove husks completely.
- Using a brush or spoon, spread a generous layer of the chipotle garlic mayo onto all sides of the corn.
- Take the ears of corn and dip each side into the cheese and cilantro mixture, pressing down as you go so it sticks.
- Sprinkle the corn with chile powder on all sides as well as with salt.
- Squirt lime juice as a garnish.
- ENJOY!
If you just can’t wait and need elote now, head to Zoom, where chef Jordan Harvey’s rendition includes roasted corn, miso aioli, queso fresco, cilantro, and chile.
