Elote

Ingredients

Corn

• 6 earsof corn, husks on

To coat

• 100 gmayonnaise
• 100 gMexican crema or sour cream
• 150 gcotija, finely crumbled
• butter
• salt

To finish

• 2 tspchile piquín or Tajín
• 2limes

Directions

1. Pull the husks back without detaching them, remove all the silk, then fold the husks back over the cob.
2. Soak the cobs in cold water for 20 minutes.
3. Soaking is what lets you grill in the husk without it burning through. The wet husk steams the corn while the fire does its work on the outside.
4. Grill over hot coals for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them often.
5. Pull the husks right back and grill the bare corn for a further 3 to 4 minutes, turning, until charred in patches.
6. Char it properly. Elote should be blackened in places, and evenly golden corn has been cooked rather than grilled.
7. Mix the mayonnaise and crema together in a shallow dish.
8. Brush the hot corn with butter, then coat it all over with the mayonnaise mixture.
9. Roll it in the crumbled cotija until it is thickly and evenly covered.
10. Dust with chile powder and squeeze lime over generously.
11. Serve on a stick or held by the folded-back husk, and eat it immediately while the corn is still hot enough to soften the cheese.
12. Maize was domesticated from teosinte in Mexico’s Balsas river valley roughly nine thousand years ago, which makes corn on the cob a very old street food indeed.

Technique

• Cotija is dry, hard and salty rather than melting, and it is meant to cling in crumbs rather than melt into the mayonnaise.
• Mayonnaise sounds wrong to anyone meeting it for the first time and is entirely standard.
• Esquites is the same thing cut off the cob and served in a cup with a spoon, which is easier to eat and just as good.

Substitutions

• Feta or ricotta salata, dried out, in place of cotija.
• Paprika with a little cayenne if you have no chile piquín.

Variations

• Esquites, served loose in a cup with the corn cut off.
• With chipotle stirred into the mayonnaise.
• Boiled rather than grilled, which is how many carts do it.

History

Maize was domesticated from teosinte in Mexico’s Balsas river valley roughly nine thousand years ago, making corn on the cob a very old street food.

Frequently asked questions

What is Elote?

Elote is a street food from Mexico: grilled corn slathered with mayo, cotija, chile, lime. Maize was domesticated from teosinte in Mexico’s Balsas river valley roughly nine thousand years ago, making corn on the cob a very old street food.

How long does Elote take to make?

Elote takes 25 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 ears. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Elote?

Yes, within limits. Feta or ricotta salata, dried out, in place of cotija. Paprika with a little cayenne if you have no chile piquín.

What is the most important thing to get right in Elote?

Char it properly. Elote should be blackened in places, and evenly golden corn has been cooked rather than grilled.