Elotes

I had a friend in grade school that loved elotes. I remember after a movie her dad stopped us at the Chupacabra's by my house for a treat. She eagerly ordered the elote in a cup... Wait, Chupacabra's you ask? Its a little paleteria/torta shop that used to be right off of Ross Ave. I believe they have since moved into the gas station next door. Dallas has lots of odd combo businesses, the other day I spotted a convenience store / tax office, we also had an empanada / pizza / chicken wing place in our neighborhood...but I digress.

So she ordered the elote in a cup, curious I asked what was in it. "Corn, mayo.." Oh no, mayo? and corn? Weird. I wanted nothing to do with it. I happily enjoyed my fresas con crema.
Years later, on a trip to Fiesta, our local grocery store, the roasted corn beckoned from the elote stand. I watched as the vendor sold the fragrant corn slathered with mayonnaise and dusted with cheese. I had to give this a try, could my friend have been onto something? She most definitely was, I'm now hooked and love to prepare corn this way. It's become a summertime staple at our house. Here's how you do it (or go here for the printable recipe):


Soak in the corn in water for about 30 minutes. This will help keep the husks from burning on the grill. Peel back the outer layers and remove them, leave enough of the inner layers attached so that the corn can still be covered by the husk. Remove all of the silk.
Rub with butter and season with salt and pepper. Cover the corn with the husks, use some of the softer pieces to tie them shut.


Grill for 20 minutes on a medium high heat, be sure to shut the lid. Turn them over about half way through. Carefully pull back the husks and put the corn directly on the grill to char it a little. Tie back the husks (they make a convenient handle) and slather with mayonnaise, dust evenly with parmesan, sprinkle with cayenne and chili powder.


You could also use crema fresca and queso fresco instead of the mayo / parmesan. I actually prefer the mayonnaise though. If eating off the cobb is too messy for you (and believe me, its probably one of the messiest things you'll ever eat) you can cut the kernels from the cobb, pile on the toppings and eat it out of cup like my friend did all those years ago.