Mexican Street Corn

Food |

Whenever anyone asks me to bring a dish to a summer get together, Mexican street corn is always my go to! The dish is formerly known as eloté and is typically served on the cob. However, my recipe is served off the cob, it’s a perfect dish to share.

This dish can be served all year long but summertime in the midwest means the stores are stocked full with local (in season) sweet corn! Since corn is the main ingredient, it’s important that it is as fresh as possible!

My recipe only calls for just 6 ingredients, it’s super simple to make, and it’s packed with bright, fresh flavors! It’s the perfect dish to brighten any backyard BBQ. Not only is this dish easy and delicious, it doesn’t cost much to make. With most of the ingredients costing less than a dollar, you could make this dish for less than $10!

Besides corn, Tajin is the star of this dish. Tajin is a chili lime seasoning that is truly amazing! It has just the right amount of spice and citrus flavoring. I put this seasoning on pineapple, watermelon, mangos, and cucumbers. I even put it in my Modelo Especials or in a tequila drink. It adds excellent flavor to just about anything and it’s always in stock in my kitchen! You can even purchase mini bottles of Tajin to take with you on the go!

The funnest ingredient of this dish would be the queso fresco. Queso fresco is a white Spanish cheese that crumbles very easily. I recommend using a cheese mill to get finer crumbles of the queso fresco for easier mixing. Depending on the brand you buy, this cheese can sometimes be overly moist. I recommend patting it down with a paper towel and letting it air dry before crumbling it!

Everyone I know cooks corn differently. Some people leave it in the husk, other’s take it out. Some boil their corn, others grill it. For this dish, I prefer to shuck the corn and cook them on a cast-iron grill pan. I grill them until I see charring on all sides. Char-marks add a depth of flavor to this dish that would definitely be missing with boiled corn.

Once the corn kernels are tender and there is charring on all sides, I take the cobs off the grill and set them aside to cool. Then I use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob into a bowl where all the six ingredients of this dish will come together.

Um, YUM! Even though this grilled corn looks good enough to eat on it’s own, it’s about to get seriously elevated! The rest of the ingredients add so much flavor and color to the dish. The creaminess and tanginess of this dish comes from the mayo or the crema. I prefer to use Kraft Olive Oil Mayonaise because it has just the right amount of tanginess!

Once all the ingredients are mixed really well, give it a taste! You may find that you want to add a little more of this and a little more of that. This is a dish you want to taste as you go along until it is seasoned to your liking. I always end up adding a little more lime juice and an extra shake or two of Tajin.

The dish is complete before you even realize it! Cover the bowl with saran wrap and pop it in the fridge until it’s time to serve. This dish is best served cold, not at room temperature. Give it a good mix before serving! I also recommend keeping a little lime and cilantro nearby to brighten up the dish from time to time.