Elote Street Corn
Inspired by SOL Cocina - Scottsdale, AZ
Corn is absolutely critical in Mexican cuisine. To give you perspective, we mainly grow 6 varieties of corn here in the United States. In Mexico, there are 60. With this knowledge, it’s no surprise that Elote (Mexican Street Corn), is like our version of corn on the cob but on steroids. It’s one of my favorite summer treats. It’s also incredibly easy to make at home.
There are several recipes for elote you’ll find very accessible. However, I recently added a bit of a spin by incorporating a “Chipotle-Garlic Salsa” created by famed chef, Deborah Schneider, in her book “Salsa and Moles”. Deborah owns a number of restaurants in Arizona and California and I picked up her book after visiting SOL Cocina in Scottsdale (where they sell their own version of “grilled sweet corn” that is drizzled with this sauce on top). Should you lack a grill, you can always use your oven by drizzling your corn with a bit of oil and then roasting at 425°F for about 20 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
CHIPOTLE MAYO (Makes about 1 cup):
¾ cup mayo
3 chipotles in adobo sauce (from a can)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp salt
ADDITIONAL NEEDS:
Corn on the cob, shucked (1 per person)
Sour cream
Cojita cheese
Chopped cilantro
GO FOR IT
CHIPOTLE MAYO:
In a food processor or blender, blend mayo, chipotles in adobo sauce, garlic, lime juice, and salt
ELOTE:
On a hot grill, cook corn, turning to different sides every few minutes (will take about 10 minutes)
As corn cooks, mix about half your chipotle mayo with an equal amount of sour cream
When corn is finished, brush all over with the chipotle mayo sour cream mix, then sprinkle heavily with crumbled cojita cheese, and then sprinkle with cilantro
Serve immediately
NOTES:
I have found more uses for this homemade chipotle mayo than any sauce I’ve ever put together. It goes great on tacos, pizza, sandwiches - you name it. As you see above, you most likely won’t be using all of this for the elote so definitely save the rest and try it out around the kitchen. For me, it has just the right amount of kick but you can add or subtract a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce depending on how much kick you like. As mentioned above, I take much direction from Deborah Schneider’s version expect that I add about twice as much garlic and lime juice and she does.
With the elote, I took things a step further and mixed the chipotle mayo sauce with sour cream to achieve a bit more tanginess. While they do not do this on the grilled sweet corn at SOL Cocina, I find it to be a bit more traditional to elote I remember from growing up in Texas. I cooked this for friends over a long weekend getaway and got more compliments here than with anything else.
Cojita cheese is pretty accessible in most grocery stores. That being said, you may run across a store that doesn’t have it. Should that be the case you can substitute cojita with some finely crumbled feta or finely grated parmesan cheese.
It’s also traditional to sprinkle elote with either some Tajín Clásico Seasoning, chili powder, cayenne, or hot sauce and then serve with lime wedges for added spice and citrus. Since my chipotle mayo already had lime juice and chipotles in it, I opted not to do this but you should feel free to mix and match to your preference.