Snack · Grilled

Elote (Grilled Street Corn)

Name: Elote recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 ears of sweet corn, husked (street vendors in Mexico often use starchier field corn); 4 tablespoons mayonnaise; 4 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream; 100 g cotija cheese, crumbled (or feta, or grated parmesan); 1 teaspoon chilli powder (ancho or Tajín-style), plus more to finish; 2 limes, in wedges; Chopped coriander, salt, and wooden skewers (optional)

Elote (Grilled Street Corn) — street food from Mexico

Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

The cup version, esquites, takes its name from the Nahuatl word izquitl, meaning toasted corn.

Corn on the cob, grilled or boiled, is coated with mayonnaise or crema, crumbled cotija cheese, chili powder, and lime. Vendors sell it from carts either whole on a stick or cut off the cob into a cup.

Why it's made this way: Maize was domesticated in southern Mexico thousands of years ago, and eating it hot from a street cart is one of the most everyday ways the country still eats its oldest crop.

What is Elote?

Elote is Mexican street corn: an ear of corn, grilled or boiled, coated with mayonnaise or crema, rolled in crumbly cotija cheese and sprinkled with chilli powder and lime juice. Vendors sell it from carts, either whole on a stick or cut off the cob into a cup.

The cup version is called esquites. Maize has been grown in Mexico for thousands of years, and eating it hot from a street cart is one of the most everyday ways to eat it.

How to make elote

Serves 4 · prep 10 min · cook 15 min

Ingredients

4 ears of sweet corn, husked (street vendors in Mexico often use starchier field corn)
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream
100 g cotija cheese, crumbled (or feta, or grated parmesan)
1 teaspoon chilli powder (ancho or Tajín-style), plus more to finish
2 limes, in wedges
Chopped coriander, salt, and wooden skewers (optional)

Method

Heat a grill or a dry cast-iron pan to medium-high. Push a wooden skewer into the stalk end of each ear if you like. Cook the corn for 10–12 minutes, turning often, until tender and charred in spots.
Mix the mayonnaise and crema in a small bowl.
While the corn is hot, brush it all over with the mayonnaise mixture.
Roll each ear in the crumbled cotija so it sticks all over, then sprinkle with chilli powder and a little salt.
Scatter with coriander and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over. For esquites, cut the kernels off the cob and mix with the same toppings in a cup.

Tips

Char the corn properly. The smoky, browned kernels are a big part of the taste.
Cotija is salty and crumbly. If you cannot find it, feta is the usual substitute.
Brush on the mayonnaise while the corn is hot so the cheese sticks.
Add lime at the end, not before, so the topping stays creamy.

Regional versions

Esquites is the cup version: corn kernels, often simmered with epazote, mixed with mayonnaise, cheese, chilli and lime.
Some vendors boil the corn rather than grilling it.
In some places the corn is coated in butter or mayonnaise only, with cheese and chilli added at the end.