I am so excited for today’s post! I have literally been waiting months for this. August is the prime time for fresh corn on the cob, so I wanted to hold off on sharing this recipe until it was the very best time to eat corn. And it’s here! So without further ado, let’s get to it.
Today we’re making elote! If you’ve never had this out-of-this-world delicacy, elote is a Mexican way of serving corn. It’s covered in butter (here in Chicago they actually use Parkay a lot), mayo, grated cotija cheese (kind of like Parmesan, but more mild), ground dried chile, and sometimes lime zest and/or juice. It can be served on the cob or “en vaso,” where the corn is cut from the cob and dressed up with elote fixin’s in a cup (less messy, but less fun).
Elote is one of my favorite things in the whole world. And what’s not to love? Butter, mayo, and cheese slathered all over sweet corn– this isn’t a low cal recipe, but it is soooo worth it to have at least every once in a while. Street vendors all over Chicago sell elote, so it’s a welcome treat. That’s actually how I had my very first elote. Tony took me out on a date just to try it and in retrospect, this delicious corn truly does deserve a date all on its own. Now please excuse me while I wipe the drool from my keyboard.
Elote is pretty quick and easy to make, so you just gotta try it at home. If you’re feeling frisky, you could even throw the corn on the grill before dressing it up. This adds a whole different layer of flavor that is truly amazing. Plus it’s beautiful outside right now and perfect for grilling.
And let me just say one more thing. I don’t think you probably can (or should) eat 4 cobs of corn by yourself, so share these with a friend or two or three. It will be a bonding experience seeing your friends and family in flavor ecstasy with mayo and cotija smeared all over their smiling faces. It’s what the elote would want.
What are your favorite street food snacks? Have you tried elote? Tell us your story. See you soon!
Elote Mexican Corn Recipe
Author: Danielle
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 4
Elote Mexican Corn is the ultimate way to have corn. It’s slathered with butter and mayo, then sprinkled with cheese, dried chile, and lime.
Ingredients
- 4 corn on the cob in their husks, top and bottom ends cut off
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup grated cotija cheese
- 1-3 teaspoons cayenne, to taste
- zest of 1 lime (optional)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large stock pot with water and place over high heat. Bring to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Carefully lower the corn, in their husks, into the water with tongs. Cook until the corn is well cooked, about 7 minutes. Set aside on a cutting board until cool enough to remove the husks. The cutting board will become very useful later when things start to get messy.
- Pull the husks from the cob and pick away the silks. Insert a stick into the bottom of each of the cobs of corn. If they got too cool, you can dunk them back in the water you boiled them in and place over a high heat until they are your desired heat.
- Spread each corn with an even amount of butter followed by mayo. You can set the corn down on the cutting board as you work to keep things (relatively) clean. Sprinkle with the cotija, cayenne, lime zest, and salt. Devour immediately and/or share with a friend!