Elote/Mexican Street Corn (Oven or Grill)
Elotes make something that's already really good (hello, corn on the cob!) into something you'll dream about with a tinge of lust in the off-season. Here's how to make them quickly and easily on the grill or in the oven.
Servings: 8
Calories: 181kcal
Ingredients
- 8 ears corn
- 1 tablespoon safflower oil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Zest of one lime
- Juice of ½ lime
- ¼ cup crumbled Cotija cheese
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
- Lime wedges for serving optional
Instructions
- Shuck corn, leaving any stalk intact. Brush each ear with safflower oil.
- To grill the corn: Preheat grill to 400°F/high. Place shucked and oiled corn on grates and grill until nicely browned in spots and still tender, about 3 minutes per "side," 10-ish minutes total. Place on a serving platter to cool slightly.
- To broil the corn: Preheat broiler to high with a rack about 6 inches below the heat source. Place shucked and oiled corn onto a rimmed baking sheet, leaving a little space between the ears if possible. Broil until nicely browned in spots but still tender, turning once each "side" has browned.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, ¾ of the chili powder, the garlic powder, ¾ of the lime zest, the lime juice, and the salt.
- When corn has cooled slightly, brush some sauce over each ear to lightly coat all kernels.
- Sprinkle with Cotija on all sides, and with a bit of cilantro and the extra chili powder and lime zest.
- Place on a serving platter and garnish with lime wedges if you like. Elotes are great warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- I live in New Jersey, where sweet Jersey corn is abundant in the late summer. This recipe is designed for that type corn, which is what you'll find in much of the U.S. (You can use any color.) Traditional Mexican elote is made with Mexican white corn (elote blanco), which is a much firmer and less sweet corn that needs to be cooked for a much longer time.
- If your corn does not have any of the stalk still attached, that's okay. Elote is a little bit messy to eat, but it's no big deal. If you like, you can insert a soaked bamboo skewer into the stem end of each ear to use as a handle.
- Ancho chili powder has a sweet, smoky vibe and a low to medium heat factor. It's perfect for this dish. If you can't find it locally, you can buy it on Amazon.
- You can use regular mayo for the sauce. I like to use Kewpie instead. It's a Japanese brand of mayonnaise that’s creamier, tangier, and more umami-fied than American mayo.
- Cotija cheese is a salty, tangy, Mexican cow's milk cheese. It comes fresh or aged. You're looking for the aged version here, which tends to be much easier to find in many parts of the U.S. anyway. It's bright white and crumbles or grates beautifully.
- Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
- Instead of sprinkling the cheese onto the corn, you can spread it onto a plate and roll the corn in it.
- I like to use a silicone pastry brush to spread the oil and the sauce onto the corn, but it's not absolutely necessary. Use your hands for the oil and the back of a spoon for the sauce instead if that's what you've got.
- Elotes are great warm or at room temperature. You can grill the corn up to 24 hours in advance and reheat (or not) before topping and serving. Assemble shortly before serving.
- Another serving option is to place the corn, sauce, cheese, and cilantro on the table separately and let folks assemble their own.
- Leftovers will keep in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 510mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g