Give your go-to corn and butter an upgrade with this Mexican grilled corn recipe that leans into powerhouse ingredients like cotija and cilantro.

Go beyond basic burgers at your next cookout with recipes from Hugh Mangum’s new book Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes from Across the Globe. With the help of Irvington-based food writer Shana Liebman, Mangum—known as the pitmaster behind the East Coast chain Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque—details how to make 280 dishes from more than 80 countries. These three are guaranteed crowd pleasers.

Elote is the quintessential Mexican street food. Grilled corn is slathered with a rich, tangy white sauce and sprinkled with cheese and chili powder, transforming the simple cob into a portable, handheld treat.

Mexican Grilled Corn

Recipe by Hugh MangumCourse: SidesCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Elote is the quintessential Mexican street food. Grilled corn is slathered with a rich, tangy white sauce and sprinkled with cheese and chili powder, transforming the simple cob into a portable, handheld treat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cotija cheese, plus extra to serve

• ½ cup mayonnaise

• ½ cup sour cream

• ½ cup finely chopped cilantro

• 1 tsp chili powder, plus extra to serve

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 8 ears of corn, shucked

• 2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve

Directions

• Preheat a grill to medium-high heat for direct grilling.
• In a large bowl, combine the cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, chili powder, and garlic. Place the corn on the grill and cook for 10–15 minutes, until charred in spots.
• Remove the corn from the grill, then coat it in the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with extra cheese and chili powder and serve with lime wedges.

Excerpted from Barbecue © 2025 by Hugh Mangum. Photography © 2025 by Nico Schinco. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.

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