Monday, May 2, 2011

Cinco de Mayo: Grilled Mexican Corn

I ate a LOT of great food at Kingsford University in March.  Seriously good food.  Here is one of my favorites from that weekend and it's just in time for Cinco de Mayo* this week:  Grilled Mexican Corn.

Chris Lilly made this as his take on a Mexican street vendor favorite.  Grilled corn rocks on its own but when you add a tangy mayo/yogurt/lime coating and a spicy cheese sprinkle....get out of here!  

I'm pleased to report that when I made it, it was just as good as that Saturday night when Chris and Ken Hess made it for us.  The recipe works, but I found it makes more like 10-12 ears (and I was doing half ears, so it would be 20+ half ears). 

grilled mexican corn, elote

Grilled Mexican Corn

grilled mexican corn, elote
Photo courtesy of Grilling.com & Kingsford.

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup plain yogurt
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • 5 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 cup Cotija cheese grated fine
  • 4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6-8 ears corn

Instructions

In a small bowl combine the yogurt, mayonnaise and lime juice. In another small bowl combine the Cotija cheese, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin and salt.

Build a charcoal fire for direct grilling using Kingsford® charcoal. While the grill is heating, remove the corn from the husks. Grill the corncobs directly over the hot coals (approximately 450˚F) for 6-7 minutes turning every two minutes until kernels start to soften.

Remove the corn from the grill and apply a light coat of the yogurt mixture to each cob. Sprinkle each corncob liberally with the Cotija cheese mixture, and they are ready to serve.

Recipe created by world champion pitmaster, Chris Lilly, on behalf of Kingsford® charcoal
Chris Lilly
grilled mexican corn, elote
Coal fired corn on the cob brings out the best flavor!
grilled mexican corn, elote
The tangy mayo/yogurt/lime juice base is mouth watering.
grilled mexican corn, elote
The spicy cotija cheese mixture puts it "out of this world good".

For this and some other ideas, check out Grilling.com, where I am one of their VIP Bloggers (don't let that affect your opinion of them, it's a great site!)

*Yes, I know that Cinco de Mayo is mostly an Americanized holiday and it IS NOT Mexico's Independence Day.  But being a "melting pot", we like to take every other nations' holidays or events and make them our own, such as; St. Patrick's Day and Oktoberfest.  And you know what?  That is not a bad thing.  It gives us a chance to celebrate aspects of the people that make this country great.  I mean, we MADE UP Mother's Day and Father's Day, no one gets all jacked up about those holidays.