Grilled Corn with Chili-Lime Butter - Seasonal Recipe

Grilled Corn with Chili-Lime Butter

🌍 Seasonal, Summer Difficulty: ●●●○○

Elotes — Mexican street corn — descends from ancient Mesoamerican corn cultivation; the tradition of coating grilled corn with fat and spices was practiced by pre-Columbian civilisations long before the Spanish introduced dairy.

Ingredients

• 4 ears fresh corn, husks on
• 115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1 tsp chili powder (or ancho chili powder)
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• Cotija cheese, crumbled (optional)
• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Lime wedges to serve

Method

1. Soaking — Soak corn in husks in cold water for 30 minutes.
2. Mixing — Mix butter with lime juice, zest, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Set aside.
3. Grilling — Grill corn in husks over medium-high heat, turning every few minutes, 15–20 minutes total.
4. Pulling — Pull back husks; grill directly over flame 2–3 minutes for char marks.
5. Step 5 — Slather hot corn generously with chili-lime butter. Sprinkle with cotija (if using) and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Tags: ears fresh corn, unsalted butter, fresh lime juice, zest of 1 lime, chili powder · Source: Brittani's Almanac