Mexican Street Corn Esquites

About This Street Corn Recipe

In this recipe we leverage fire roasted corn and jalapeños in order to amplify their natural flavors and create a more delicious version of street corn. The overall combination of ingredients is true to the classic way street corn is offered around Mexico.

If you can grill your corn on the cob and chile peppers, go that route. Otherwise consider one of the other methods to cook the corn we have listed.

Serve your Mexican street corn salad plated as a side for proteins or portioned into cups for individual enjoyment as a snack or appetizer.

Esquites

Esquites street corn is an ubiquitos offering of the Mexican culinary scene and has also become an increasingly popular item outside the boarders of the country. And for a good reason - it is delicious, filling and easy way to enjoy. Think elote fire roasted corn but conveniently served in a cup.

Esquites is street corn off-the-cob mixed with or topped with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, jalapeños, lime juice, cilantro, and seasonings. Esquites is also known as trolelotes, troles and elote en vaso (elote in a cup because it is essentially a deconstructed elote) or simply Mexican street corn salad.

Ingredients

Corn. You can use grilled corn as we do here - the fire roasted flavor is truly worth it. You can also shave off the kernels and roast them in the oven or saute them in a skillet along with some butter and diced onion.

Mayonnaise. The mayo is foundational, it helps all the other topping ingredients form a cohesive whole. On occasion you will see Mexican crema (sour cream) offered insted of mayo. Feel free to use sour cream instead of mayonnaise or a combination of both.

Cotija. Fresh Mexican crumbling cheese, a classic topping for elote and by extension Mexican street corn salad.

Jalapeños. They need to be diced. You can use fresh, grilled or even pickled jalapeños. Our favorite combination is to fire roast a couple of jalapeños, remove the seeds before we dice them and use a handful of pickled, store-bought jalapeños (we dice these too) as partners.

Green onion. Finely diced, fresh. Some recipes you will encounter call for yellow onion, diced, to be sauteed with the corn. Sometimes even minced garlic. This is not traditional, but is delicious, so if you feel the urge to do it - do it.

Cilantro and lime. Cilantro is for garnish and lime juice and optional slices are for acidity and garnish.

Tajin seasoning or chile powder. A spicy and sour seasoning such as Tajin is traditional, sometimes simple chile powder is offered. Feel free to use the one you prefer (for us it is Tajin).

Kosher salt and black pepper. At street food stalls you will not observe salt and pepper offered because the cotija has inherent saltiness to it and the Tajin is spicy enough. But when making Mexican street corn at home feel free to season to taste with both salt and pepper.

NOTE: There are no prescribed proportions of ingredients for street corn. Everyone can make it according to their own taste. Add as much or as little of each ingredient in addition to the corn or entirely leave out ingredients that are not to your taste. Total freedom, street food style.

How to Cook the Corn for Esquites

The best tasting esquites are based on fire roasted corn (grilled, charred corn cobs known as asados). The char adds so much flavor to the kernels and the street corn cocktail tastes fuller.

Below is how you would often see asado street corn offered at a food stall.

Besides fire roasting aka grilling the corn on the cob until it is charred, you can slice off the fresh corn kernels and then EITHER saute them with some butter and/or cooking oil over medium-high heat OR oven roast them, lightly tossed in oil.

Once the corn is cooked proceed as described below. Alternatively, you can even use store-bought sweet corn in a can. Drain it well, then saute with butter as if it was fresh corn but for less time, just until warmed through.

How to Make Mexican Street Corn Salad

1. Cook the corn in one of the ways described below.
   • fire roast (grill) corn on-the-cob until charred and then slice off kernels, consult this fire roasted corn method;
   • slice off kernels and saute them with a bit of butter in a medium-high hot pan (you can add the diced jalapeños);
   • slice off kernels and roast them in the oven at 450 F over a parchment paper lined baking sheet, tossed with a bit of cooking oil (you can add the diced jalapeños) see this roasted corn salsa method for illustration;
   • drain two cans of cooked sweet corn, saute them in butter briefly and proceed;
2. In a large bowl combine the sliced off and cooked corn kernels, diced jalapeños, crumbled cotija, finely sliced green onion, mayonnaise, lime juice, chile powder (Tajin seasoning), salt and black pepper to taste, finely chopped cilantro. Mix to combine and serve.

Serve the Street Corn Salad Style

To serve as a salad plate the mixture in an appropriate dish and garnish with some more cotija crumbles, cilantro, a bit of chile seasoning and thinly sliced lime if you want.

Serve the Street Corn as Esquites

To serve the street corn in true esquites style line up small cups and spoon the mixture into them. Garnish as already described above and provide a small spoon to go with each cup.

Storage and Reheating

Store any leftover street corn in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To reheat you can simply use your microwave for about thirty seconds to a minute (expect the cotija to melt) or you can leave it to reach room temperature on the counter and enjoy it in its cold version.