Mexican Street Corn or Elotes, is a popular street vendor snack in Mexico. Serve it on the cob or shave the corn to serve in a cup for Esquites.
Nothing compares to fresh picked corn in the Summertime. But do you know how you take sweet Summer corn to the next level?? Making it into Mexican Street Corn!
The flavor of the corn changes from sweet to tangy, creamy, and a hint of spice! Making it the perfect snack or side dish to go with your Summer cookouts!
How to Cook the Corn
For the best flavor, use fresh corn and cook it on the grill. Remove the husk off the corn right before cooking for optimum freshness.
I love the smell of corn cooking on the grill!
However, if you are short on time, then use corn that's already been shucked and boil it for about 7 minutes.
Another option is to roast the corn in the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating it half way.
How to Make Elotes
Traditional Mexican street corn is made with boiled/steamed corn, then slathered with mayonesa, cotija, chili powder, and a squeeze of limon.
However, you can customize the ingredients to what you have on hand or your preference.
Sauce- Not a fan of mayonnaise? Then use Mexican Crema, Sour Cream, or even plain Greek Yogurt.
Or do a combination like I did, half Mayo and half Greek Yogurt.
Cheese- I went with parmesan cheese instead of cotija. Another option is feta cheese or queso fresco.
Chili- My favorite is a chili lime salt or Tajin, but you can also use chili powder or paprika to give the corn some spice and smokiness.
How to Make Esquites
Esquites is basically all the components of elotes but in a cup. Making it easy to eat and portable to walk around with.
The corn can be Grilled, Roasted, Boiled, or shaved off the cob and cooked in a skillet.
Once you have the cooked corn shaved into a cup, mix your base of either mayo, sour cream, crema, yogurt or a combination. Then add your cheese, chili, and lime. Mix and top with more cheese if you like.
This is also a better way to store any leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Both prepared elotes and esquites are best eaten immediately. If you do have leftovers, get them stored as soon as possible since they have mayo or crema.
Here are some recipes to pair with Mexican Street Corn:
Mexican Street Corn
Ingredients
- 4 Ears of Corn
- ½ Cup Mexican Crema, Mayonnaise, Sour Cream, or Greek Yogurt. Or a combination of two.
- ¼ Cup Cotija Cheese Parmesan or Feta Cheese work too
- 1 teaspoon Chili Lime Salt Chili Powder or Paprika
- 1 Lime Cut into 4 slices
Instructions
- Grilled Method: Remove husks from corn just before grilling. Place corn cobs directly on hot side of grill for a few minutes on each side, till slightly charred.
- Boiled Method: Place shucked corn in a pot and bring to a boil for about 7 minutes or until kernels are slightly tender.
- Remove corn and allow to cool a couple minutes. Using a pastry brush, spread crema or mayo on corn. Use a much or as little as you like. Then top with cheese of choice, chili powder, and squeeze lime all over. Serve immediately.
- To serve in a cup, shave cooked corn off the cob into a cup. Or Shave uncooked corn and cook in a skillet. Then mix with crema or mayo, cheese, chili powder, and lime. Top with more cheese or chopped cilantro for garnish. Serve immediately or store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and depends on ingredients and amounts used. Thai Caliente makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
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