Mexican Street Corn on the Cob (Elote)
This Mexican street corn, covered in a homemade dressing and toppings is easy to make and perfect as a side dish or snack.
Ingredients
For the Corn:
- 6 ears corn on the cob yellow or multi-colored corn is best for more contrast
- Water for boiling the corn on the cob
For the Dressing:
- 1/4 cup Mexican crema (table cream)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or add to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
For the Toppings:
- Dressing
- Light sprinkle of salt on each ear of corn Optional
- 1 teaspoon chili powder or "chile" powder (ancho, pasilla or New Mexico red chiles); add to taste
- 3 tablespoons finely crumbled Queso Fresco (Mexican cheese) or add to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or add to taste
For Serving:
- 2 whole limes each lime cut into 6 wedges
Equipment
- 8-quart tall pot (for boiling the corn on the cob)
- a small size food processor or medium size zipper-seal plastic bag (to crumble the cheese)
Instructions
Prepare the Corn on the Cob:
- Remove the husks (shuck the corn) and silk strands from each ear of corn. Rinse the corn on the cob. If the tip of the ear of corn has brown or soft kernels, carefully cut that part off.
Boil the Corn:
- In a large pot, add just enough water to cover the ears of corn (about 1 quart of water for each ear of corn). I filled an 8-quart pot a little over half full for the 6 ears of corn in this recipe.Bring the pot of water to a boil.
- Using long tongs, carefully add each ear of corn to the pot of water.
- As the corn cooks, watch the water level in the pot so that it doesn't boil over. If the water level gets too close to the top of the pot, carefully ladle some of the water out of the pot.
- Make sure the ears of corn are submerged in water. If more water is needed in the pot, carefully add just enough to cover each ear of corn.
- Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the corn is tender (about 7 to 9 minutes). Be careful not to overcook the corn or it will be tough.If the water starts to boil over the sides of the pot, turn off the heat and using hot mitts, carefully remove the pot from the burner.
- Use tongs to transfer each ear of cooked corn from the pot onto a large plate.Cool the corn just long enough so they're still warm but can be comfortably handled to add the toppings (about 10 minutes).
- While the corn cools, make the dressing, crumble the cheese and chop the cilantro.
For the Dressing:
- In a small bowl add Mexican crema, mayonnaise, ground cumin, onion powder, granulated garlic and salt. Whisk together until creamy. Set aside.
Crumble the Queso Fresco Cheese:
- In a small food processor, add the cheese and mix or grind it just long enough to crumble.Or put the cheese inside a medium size zipper-seal plastic bag and push out as much air as possible before tightly sealing the bag.Then lightly squeeze the bag until the cheese crumbles.Set aside.
For the Toppings:
- After the corn is cool enough to handle, add the toppings.
- Dressing - Using a pastry or cooking brush, spread the dressing on all sides of each ear of corn.Optional - add a light sprinkle of salt on top of the dressing on each ear of corn.
- Chili Powder - Sprinkle chili powder on all sides of each ear of corn.
- Mexican Cheese and Cilantro - top each ear of corn with crumbled queso fresco (Mexican cheese) and chopped cilantro.
For Serving:
- Serve warm with wedges of fresh lime. Squeeze lime juice on each ear of corn
Notes
TIPS:
- Feel free to substitute the "chili" powder for "chile" powder. "Chili" powder - (like the kind in a bottle or jar on the spice aisle at the grocery store) has a blend of herbs and spices in it. "Chile" powder - (generally found in the Hispanic food section at the grocery store) is pure ground chile peppers such as ancho, pasilla or New Mexico red chiles.
- When boiling the corn on the cob, if the water starts to boil over the sides of the pot, turn off the heat and using hot mitts, carefully remove the pot from the burner.