Elote, or Mexican street corn, is one of my absolute favorite things that I didn't know about till far too late in life. In case you didn't know, my full name is actually Casey Love Corn, and I was mercilessly asked growing up, "Do you looooove corn?" Of course, that made stubborn young Casey refuse to eat corn for years, so even though I grew up in LA on a steady diet of Mexican food, elote was, well, elusive for a long time. Then I ended up working for a LA dining institution, Border Grill, and was introduced to this magical dish.
Corn, cheese, sour cream, mayo, cheese, that beautiful charred flavor from the grill, and did I mention cheese? Elote has it all. And because I'm making up for the lost years of my childhood, this is by no means the only elote recipe on this site.
TRUFFLE ELOTE
serves 4
4 each ears of corn
½ c mayo
½ c sour cream
½ c cotija cheese, grated
1 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
2 each limes
2 each garlic clove
1 Tbs cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving
to taste The Truffleist truffle hot sauce
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, sour cream, chili powder, salt and ⅓ cup of cotija cheese. Microplane the garlic clove into the sauce, and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a plate or loaf pan.
Zest one lime, and set the zest aside, then cut it and squeeze its juice into the sauce and stir. Cut the other lime into wedges for serving.
Heat a grill or grill pan. Shuck the corn, leaving the leaves on at the end if you like, but making sure all the silks have been removed.
Char the corn on all sides, then remove from the grill and allow to cool for a minute or two, just so that it’s not piping hot.
Use tongs to pick up each ear of corn and roll it in the creamy mixture, then transfer it to a serving plate. Finish with the rest of the cotija, lime zest, and a serious drizzle of hot sauce. Serve with the lime wedges and more cilantro.
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