This late night street food is a Mexican favorite. Street vendors will take corn-on-the cob and pull down the husks to tie them into handles. The corn is then grilled or roasted, charred, and dipped in a mayonnaise and crema mixture to coat. The final step is sprinkling the corn with crumbly cheese and chili powder. No fair or festival would dare be caught without them.
Elote Asado is at its core an antojito, Mexican street food. Antojitos (“little craving”) are made and sold by street vendors and market stalls throughout Mexico. These snacks are typically available in the morning or evenings but are not part of the main meal of the day, which is served in the middle of the afternoon.
Common antojitos include tacos, quesadillas, gorditas, tostadas, tamales, tlayudas and, of course, elotes asado. Local ingredients are used for the antojitos as well as soups, drinks, and fruits also available. Mexico has one of the most extensive street cuisine cultures anywhere and Mexico City is considered among the top 10 cities for street foods in the world.
Elotes Asada – Grilled Corn on the Cobb
Equipment
- Grill
- Oblong bowl
Ingredients
- 4 Ears of corn with husks
- ¼ cup Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Mexican crema (or sour cream)
- ½ tsp Chile powder, mild preferred
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- ¼ cup Cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- ½ cup Cotija or feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 Lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Prep Corn– Preheat grill to high. Strip corn husks off corn but leave attached at the bottom. Take a few green strips and tie a knot around top of peeled husks. This will create a "handle" to eat elote by hand.
- Sauce – While grill is heating up, combine the mayonnaise, crema/sour cream, cheese, chili powder, garlic and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Grill – Place corns on grill leaving the tied husks hanging over the edge off the flames. Turn occasionally until they become slightly charred and cooked through, around 8-10 minutes. Remove and transfer to the bowl with mayo/crema mixture.
- Serve – Using a big spoon, coat all sides of each corn over the sauce in the bowl. Arrange on a platter "handle" side out. Sprinkle with a little paprika and serve with limes on the side.
Notes
- If a grill is unavailable, corn can be roasted in a hot skillet or under the broiler for a similar amount of time. You’d have to remove the husk “handles” so they don’t burn.
- Squeezing the lime over the elote adds a beautiful contrast to the corn and sauce.
- This recipe can easily be doubled.
