Elote recipe: Mexican grilled corn with chile and lime

This elote recipe treats grilled corn on the cob the way street vendors do: charred over direct heat, then coated in crema, cheese and chile until the whole ear is impossible to eat neatly. The technical key is timing the char: enough direct flame to blister the kernels without drying them out before the toppings go on.

The dish sits behind a lot of what makes corn-forward Mexican cooking work, the same logic chef Johnny Curiel builds his 16-course menu around at Milpero, Denver's newly starred Michelin restaurant. Elote is the version anyone can make on a home grill or a cast-iron pan.

Ingredients

The whole point of elote is that you can't eat it neatly, and you're not meant to.

• 4 ears fresh corn, husks on
• 60 g mayonnaise
• 60 g Mexican crema or sour cream
• 50 g cotija cheese, finely grated, plus extra to finish
• 1 tsp ancho chile powder, plus extra to finish
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Fine sea salt, to taste
• A handful of coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1. Peel the husks back without removing them, strip out the silk, then fold the husks back up around the cob. The husk works as a handle and shields the kernels from scorching too fast on direct heat.
2. Soak the corn, still in its husk, in cold water for 15 minutes if grilling over live fire. Wet husks burn more slowly, giving the kernels time to char evenly underneath.
3. Grill over medium-high direct heat, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, for 12 to 15 minutes total, until the kernels show patches of char and are tender when pierced. Regular turning builds layered char instead of burning one side through.
4. While the corn grills, whisk the mayonnaise and crema with a pinch of salt until smooth.
5. Peel back the husks fully once the corn is off the heat. Brush each ear generously with the mayonnaise-crema mix while it is still hot, so the mixture clings and melts slightly into the charred kernels.
6. Roll each ear in the grated cotija, pressing gently so the cheese sticks to the wet coating.
7. Dust with ancho chile powder, squeeze a lime wedge over each ear and scatter with coriander. Serve at once, while the cheese is still soft.

A dish that travels off the cob

Cut the kernels off after grilling and toss them with the same mayonnaise, crema, cotija and chile for esquites, the cup version of the same dish, easier to eat at a stand-up party. It holds its char and crunch for about 20 minutes before the topping turns the corn soft.

Pair it with a light lager or a young mezcal, the kind of pairing that shows up on menus like Milpero's, where corn runs through nearly every course.