ugh, mayo? grill corn, then in this order; Mexican Table Cream made by Cacique, Ancho chile powder, crumbled Cotija cheese, cilantro and lime juice.
1
That corn looks sooo good!! I can't wait to try this recipe!!!
My husband followed this recipe exactly as presented and...what can I say, unbelievable. We devoured 3 ears, sans the cheese, and felt no restaurant could complete with this grilled treat. Oh yes, lime AND margaritas essential. Enjoy!!
One suggestion to transport this recipe from excellent to outstanding - make your own mayo from scratch. Try it. You'll never use commercial mayo in this recipe again.
1
I just came from the Minnesota State Fair, where I ate, just as I do every year, a beautiful ear of corn handed to me by fresh-faced teenaged farm kids. I bought a ticket at the booth, then traded that ticket for the ear I wanted - nice and caramelized (i.e., a little burned).
When they handed it over, slathered with butter, I shook on a little salt and pepper, conveniently provided. It's the greatest summer treat and I look forward to it every year. No need for adornments, although maybe I will try this at home.
When they handed it over, slathered with butter, I shook on a little salt and pepper, conveniently provided. It's the greatest summer treat and I look forward to it every year. No need for adornments, although maybe I will try this at home.
1
If you're grilling the corn in the husk, you don't need to remove the silk. It basically disappears in the cooking. For many years I went through the fiddly task of peeling back the husk, taking off the silk, replacing the husk. Then a corn grower in Connorsville, WI let me in on this "secret." So easy, works great; it steam-roasts the corn right inside the undisturbed husk. And, you don't need to soak it.
4
Can one get enough fresh corn? OK, I am a purist and you'll never see mayo or cilantro anywhere near my corn. That said, I will try a couple of others. I grow my own corn, it just became ripe this week and I give away about 3x what I can eat. screwing up an ear or two won't be the end of the world. If the grill is up, my fav method is de-silk, soak and grill in husk. If not, de-husk and clean the place in pot of cold water over high heat. at the boil, stop heat, 'poach' 8-10 minutes, slather with butter and a tiny bit of garlic salt. Can I make an entire meal of that? Bank on it! Can one ever get too much fresh corn? Perhaps, bit it would be difficult.
1
We mix lime juice and chili flakes into miso paste, which we smear on the corn after steaming or grilling. A wonderful hit of umami, sour and salt atop the sweetness of the corn, and not terribly messy either.
1
Corn should be steamed or roasted, never boiled. There is nothing you can do to help boiled corn.
It simply makes no sense to do this to good corn. The only reason to use a recipe like this is if you have bad corn and want to cover up that fact. It has nothing to do with being a "kind of person." This treatment obliterates the subtle qualities and therefore wastes the product. This is in no way different from putting ketchup on an expensive dry-aged cut of beef.
6
All the seasonings and sauces in the world will not cover up the taste of bad corn or any other bad, stale out of season food. For seasonings to work you have to start with the best raw products and only then will the seasonings do their thing and enhance the taste of the dish. If everything is to be eaten in it's pure form only then why have recipes? Seasonings enhance rather than cover up. I bought the best, freshest corn I could find to try out this recipe and it was delicious. I am so glad Melissa Clark comes up with these creative, flavorful and interesting recipes.
10
Obviously youve never tried it!
11
"This is in no way different from putting ketchup on an expensive dry-aged cut of beef."---- I agree that good corn is good on it's own, but at some point you gotta do something different! No need to compare condiments on an elote to ketchup on a a good steak. Different strokes for different folks. We the people of Latin descent enjoy a variety of flavors, especially of the spicy sort. A well-dressed elote is a culinary delight. There is a nationally renown steak house in Texas - http://www.killenssteakhouse.com/menu.html - that makes a cream corn that mimics a traditional elote. As someone who has grown up eating "elotes" it's fascinating to read a NYT interpretation of the dish.
1
It sounds like I have found someone who appreciates corn. Something has been bothering me for years. In the South, I grew up with bright yellow corn with big kernels and cornsilk that really got caught in your teeth. My granddaddy would go out into his garden and pull it off the plant. Five minutes later it would be in boiling water. This is one of my fondest childhood memories. Here in the mid-Atlantic all I find is sweet corn, often white (!) with very small kernels. I yearn for real corn. Is it even available here? Do they still grow it in the South or has sweet corn taken over?
6
The kind of corn you crave is available in S. Texas and in Mexico, or something similar is, anyway. But, it is white, and it sounds like that is a problem for you. The corn down Mexico way that is used for elotes is a white corn that is grown primarily for masa -- used to make tamales, tortillas, and gorditos among other things. It is not sweet. I too remember the old style yellow corn that we called field corn. It was different from the modern Dent corn grown for cattle feed and corn syrup, among other industrial products, though. If harvested at the right time, and cooked immediately, it had a rich corn taste with just the right amount of sweetness.
Modern sweet corns are bred for two things -- high sugar content, and low concentration of the enzyme that changes sugar to starch. The less of that enzyme they have, the longer the corn will remain sweet after harvest. So, you can get corn that is still sweet when it reaches the supermarket. But, it has little or none of that rich "corny" taste I remember from childhood.
Look in a seed catalog. The modern corns are marketed as "extra sweet," and "double sweet," depending on whether they bear one or two copies of the extra sweet gene. To get the corn taste you want, you need to plant an older, open pollinated variety. Country gentleman is a good one, though it is white rather than yellow.
Modern sweet corns are bred for two things -- high sugar content, and low concentration of the enzyme that changes sugar to starch. The less of that enzyme they have, the longer the corn will remain sweet after harvest. So, you can get corn that is still sweet when it reaches the supermarket. But, it has little or none of that rich "corny" taste I remember from childhood.
Look in a seed catalog. The modern corns are marketed as "extra sweet," and "double sweet," depending on whether they bear one or two copies of the extra sweet gene. To get the corn taste you want, you need to plant an older, open pollinated variety. Country gentleman is a good one, though it is white rather than yellow.
9
Gotta buy the heirlooms (Golden Bantam, Dorinny, Stowell's Evergreen, etc. - go to Southern Exposure or Rare Seeds) and grow yourself or, better (if you have no room or desire to grow it yourself), find some like-minded individuals and a farmer or CSA, join up/put your money together, and convince someone it is profitable to grow you a bunch of corn.
Did that myself with okra, thinking I'd not find any up here (didn't last year), but my favorite Asian veggie vendor at the Farmer's Market is loaded with it, so okra every other night. Heaven.
I too grew up in the South and yep, pretty much the super-sweet and hybrids (of which not all are bad) have taken over. Have been in NE Ohio for a bit now, and you can find some good corn here...amongst a lot of the super-sweet crap. But again, find that CSA or Farmer's Market and the corn you like, and then buy, buy, buy!
Take a look here too: http://www.localharvest.org/washington-dc
Did that myself with okra, thinking I'd not find any up here (didn't last year), but my favorite Asian veggie vendor at the Farmer's Market is loaded with it, so okra every other night. Heaven.
I too grew up in the South and yep, pretty much the super-sweet and hybrids (of which not all are bad) have taken over. Have been in NE Ohio for a bit now, and you can find some good corn here...amongst a lot of the super-sweet crap. But again, find that CSA or Farmer's Market and the corn you like, and then buy, buy, buy!
Take a look here too: http://www.localharvest.org/washington-dc
2
You are talking about field corn.
2
Mayo and Tabasco is great on corn. I will try a drop or so of lime tonight.
1
Boil up okra whole (7 minutes), and dip into the same concoction (although we often use a chipotle BBQ sauce mixed into mayo). It really is delicious.
Of course, so folks just can't stand okra, so there is that. (more for me!)
Of course, so folks just can't stand okra, so there is that. (more for me!)
One of my favorites ! I love this recipe so much that I have iterated this meticulously. Here is are my modifications:
- 4 tbsp mayo
- 4 tbsp creme fraiche
- 1/2 cup grated cotija cheese
- 1/2 tsp ancho chilli powder
- 4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
Mix the above and baste/submerge the corn. Now generously sprinkle with Tajin salt and squeeze a 1/4 lime wedge. Enjoy !
- 4 tbsp mayo
- 4 tbsp creme fraiche
- 1/2 cup grated cotija cheese
- 1/2 tsp ancho chilli powder
- 4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
Mix the above and baste/submerge the corn. Now generously sprinkle with Tajin salt and squeeze a 1/4 lime wedge. Enjoy !
11
Considering the varieties of corn available outside of Mexico, it would help to identify those with characteristics more suitable for roasting. An aficionado of roasted maize, I gagged at the idea of adding cumin and/or cilantro. And "chile" isn't generic: there are many kinds, and not being specific is an error.
1
It's Melissa Clark. I'm surprised she didn't add anchovies and harissa.
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the recipe states: " ΒΌ teaspoon ancho chile powder, more as needed." i think that is pretty specific.
3
Whether you like cumin or cilantro on your corn or not, both are traditional in various parts of Mexico. The recipe specifies ancho chili powder. Chile is a country, btw. An excellent corn for the purpose is the one most commonly used in Mexico. That is the white corn, not sweet, commonly grown for masa in Mexico and S. Texas. But, it becomes starchy quickly after harvest.
This is a North Indian take on Grilled Corn:
1. Grill the freshest sweet shucked corn you can find over hot coals or a cooking range flame to almost a char.
2. Touch a half-slice of a lime in some salt kept in a saucer. Or, use salt with whatever finely ground spices you fancy. Black pepper, red pepper, and toasted cumin do well here.
3. Rub the salt/spice mix in on the hot corn while gently squeezing the lime. Recharge the lime with the salt/spice mix as you cover the entire cob with the lime rub. Discard the lime if it has picked up a lot of char.
4. Enjoy right away! Goes well with any chilled beverage. And it is as lean as corn can be.
1. Grill the freshest sweet shucked corn you can find over hot coals or a cooking range flame to almost a char.
2. Touch a half-slice of a lime in some salt kept in a saucer. Or, use salt with whatever finely ground spices you fancy. Black pepper, red pepper, and toasted cumin do well here.
3. Rub the salt/spice mix in on the hot corn while gently squeezing the lime. Recharge the lime with the salt/spice mix as you cover the entire cob with the lime rub. Discard the lime if it has picked up a lot of char.
4. Enjoy right away! Goes well with any chilled beverage. And it is as lean as corn can be.
11
Soak fresh trimmed ears in ice water for 2-3 hours
Remove ears and place on grill "husks on" so the ears will steam
Grill on High turn ears every 10 minutes till husks show a char on all sides
approximately 3 turns equal 20 minutes on the grill
Slather or schmear a piece of bread with butter
remove leaves on corn and roll the ear on the buttered bread
shake on some Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning and start gnawing!
Heaven awaits....