Dinner Tonight: Grilled Corn (Red Hook Ball Field Style)
I haven’t had much luck grilling corn this year. Because it seems like such an easy process, I went in blind and managed to disfigure nearly every cob that’s touched my grill. Too much good Midwestern corn had been sacrificed because of my utter lack of knowledge. It was time to get serious. So I researched, tried a few out, and then finally remembered something I’d seen at the Red Hook Ball Fields in Brooklyn.
This website certainly loves the place, and I’ll continue that adoration. I would have never, ever put this combo together had I not seen it with my own eyes. The vendor grilled the corn with the husks on until they had been scorched. Then he would remove the husks, grill it again until the kernels had blistered, slather it with mayonnaise, sprinkle the whole thing with a crumbly cheese, and then pour hot sauce straight on. The technique works—especially if you soak the corn before grilling it—even if the topping doesn’t sound immediately appetizing. It didn’t sound too promising to me, either. But it works, especially if you can find Cotija cheese at your local Mexican market.
Oh, and that nice young lady in the picture supplied all of the corn from her family farm. For this we thank her.
Grilled Corn (Red Hook Ball Field Style)
Ingredients
4 to 8 ears of corn
1/4 pound Cotija cheese, or any cheese that could be sprinkled, such as feta or Parmesan
Mayonnaise
Hot sauce
Procedure
1. Dump the corn into a large pot and fill with water. Let them soak for 1/2 an hour to an hour.
2. Start the grill. Add the corn and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the utter husks have a nice char to them.
3. Remove the husks and place back on the grill. Cook until some of the kernels have blackened.
4. Slather the corn with mayonnaise, sprinkle with cheese, and dot with some hot sauce if you can handle it.
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4 Comments:
Nick: I'd never thought of this combo, either—until La Esquina opened up in SoHo here in NYC. I'm sure a lot of Serious Eats readers in locations with larger Mexican populations had tried this treat long before, but this corn was a revelation.
It truly does sound kinda offputting—mayo on corn? But it's one of those "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" things. The flavors are awesome. I used the recipe I linked to here to make them last summer, and my dinner party guests raved.
Adam Kuban at 6:02PM on 08/15/07
Grilled corn is the most amazing stuff -- especially Cuban-style with mayo and cheese and lime (Cafe Habana in NYC is my fave).
I make it all year round -- I find that my gas stovetop suffices for a grill in a pinch :)
jimmyjojo at 6:21PM on 08/15/07
Thanks for the soaking tip. I've had mixed results in the past grilling, but just put the cobs into a pot of water for tonight. One other tip, I pull back the husks before grilling and remove the silk. I tie it back up with a little tin foil, and when they're cooked, they're all ready for the table.
hreisig at 7:13PM on 08/15/07
Ah, elotes! I used to buy these from the pushcart vendors in Chicago during the summer. Even with parmesan the combination is terrific.
JungMan at 4:18PM on 08/16/07