elotes

OK, I was at Falcon Eddy's with a group, and they didn't want to order the elotes because they were $16 for a pound (why does one have to buy that much?)

So Saturday I met my daughter at a Mexican ice cream parlor before taking her kids to a movie...BTW, THREE Mexican ice cream parlors across the street from each other). And they all sold elotes, so I ordered some.

Today I looked on cooks.com for a recipe, and they bear no resemblance to what I had, they were like cornbread or something..

A general web search for elotes gave me mexican street food, obviously related, but still very different....corn grilled on charcoal then smothered in a mix of mayo, sour cream, cheese and seasonings.

on the second page of the web search, "elotes in a cup", bingo. What I had at the ice cream parlor. boiled corn with similar seasonings, in a cup.

I called Falcon Eddy's and their elotes is deep fried.

I added "deep fried" to my web search and found corn on the cob, dipped in corn bread batter, and deep fried, then finished off like grilled.

Or, on the second search, apparently grilled on the cob, cut from the cob and made into fritters that are deep fried (ugh, no).

Without calling them back, I'm going to guess Captain Eddy's deep fries the corn, then prepares it in a cup (well, a bowl for a full pound). If on the cob, that would be maybe 3 ears, which seems way too expensive at $16. I suppose they might deep fry individual kernals in some kind of strainer basket too.

Hmmm, one (and only one that I have seen) calls the "in a cup" version Esquites.

I'm experimenting with (as is my wont) a healthier version, primarily by using fat free strained Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and butter flavored margarine instead of butter (one recipe on the WWW claimed it tasted BETTER with margarine than with butter), and that one street vender she liked used a squeeze bottle of margarine. Sprinkles of sesame seeds or toasted Quinoa might be an optional feature. I just found how to make aquafaba mayo. Recipes seem to call for two or three of: butter, sour cream, and mayonnaise. I did find one website endorsing fat free yogurt instead of sour cream as well as half of another shortcut I planned to use.

My guess is that in-a-cup could be prepared and taken somewhere and eaten a few hours later (the mix ins added just before serving), but the on-the-cob would lose too much unless as the cheese etc mix to be applied would not travel without some preparation that I cannot think of.

1. Comments on the on-the-cob vs in-a-cup versions?
2. Suggestions on my intentions of making a healthier version?
3. One specific related question. The aquafaba mayo recipe calls for a "neutral"oil, like sunflower. I'm thinking that a nutty flavored mayo might be a plus for elotes, so any thoughts on using a tree nut oil such as filbert, macadamia or some other?

Just curious ... where is this Captain Eddy's?

Sorry, I had it correct the first place in my post... Falcon Eddy's. The second time I got confused with tomorrow's Captain Porky's... now corrected.

diversedancer-

If you haven't had elotes or esquites from a cart in Rogers Park, Humboldt Park or other areas, I highly recommend it. That way you can get an idea of the dish. What you get from a cart won't be healthy, but that's why it's so good!

Our own Buddy Roadhouse offered up a recipe after serving it to us at picnic many years ago.

I got hooked on elotes while staying in Oaxaca, Mexico, back in 2003. They were sold from carts everywhere, though one soon developed favorite vendors.

For anyone who might live farther north who might like to try elotes, Momcorn has a great version -- well, two great versions, actually -- the original type, on the cob, or the casserole type, in the bowl. Mighty tasty either way.

If you're not familiar with Momcorn, it's at 5101 W Washington St #2, Gurnee, IL 60031.
http://www.momcorn.com/

El Carrito (https://www.elcarritotacos.com) offers:
ELOTES IN A CUP Roasted corn, mayo, lime, cotija cheese, cilantro, Chile.
as an appetizer for $3.99. The restaurant is at 6019 N. Lincoln Ave.

With apologies if the intent of this thread is to celebrate the traditional version, I love that many restaurants in Chicago have tweaked and updated the original form. Within the last couple of weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed Proxi's elotes-inspired cocktail and elotes tempura, and swooned over the elotes corn dog at the Duck Inn pop-up at Revival Food Hall. On the home-cooking front, about six weeks ago we found ourselves with an awkward amount of leftover farmers market peas, and they elote'd perfectly!

Smassey wrote:With apologies if the intent of this thread is to celebrate the traditional version, I love that many restaurants in Chicago have tweaked and updated the original form. Within the last couple of weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed Proxi's elotes-inspired cocktail and elotes tempura, and swooned over the elotes corn dog at the Duck Inn pop-up at Revival Food Hall. On the home-cooking front, about six weeks ago we found ourselves with an awkward amount of leftover farmers market peas, and they elote'd perfectly!

As the OP, I definitely wasn't trying to "celebrate" the "traditional" version.

Actually, I thought my first item was asking, what was the "original" version? As specified to be a "street food", I was presuming the "original" version was on-the-cob, which seemed to be more of a street form. I feared if I brought the "mixed in a cup" version, I would be kicked out of LTH. Clearly my fears were groundless, as I was pointed to a version from an LTH picnic "many" years ago, made as a casserole, neither "mixed in a cup" nor "on the cob", but maybe an "as far as possible from the street" version.

My second question was about making it healthier. There are plenty of foods which I would love to eat every day, but in their original form, doing so would severely limit the number of days left to my life in which to eat them. So often my GOAL in cooking is to make something 90% as tasty, and only 10% as unhealthy (while considering 80%/20% an acceptable outcome).

I would guess your peas elote definitely qualifies (peas are more healthy than corn) and as variations are implied by my OP, I am VERY interested in details of all the varieties you listed. I cannot imagine elotes tempura unless it is with baby corn...if corn kernals were mixed with the batter it would be perforce heavier, and IMHO better called dumplings and too remote to reasonably be callws tempura. Maybe not what you had, but I am imagining baby corn tempura (the large baby corn, or fresh if possible, as I grew baby corn one year), sprinkled with lime juice and dipped in melted cojita with a little chili.

If anybody specified otherwise, I missed it and I apologize, but it seems that ALL comments refer to "off the cob" versions of elotes, is that correct?

Is an "on the cob" version sold at any fixed venue north of Fullerton and in Cook county (as I wouldn't drive further than that just to try it, if even that far)?

Is it sold from carts somewhere in that same range? What days and times?

diversedancer wrote:If anybody specified otherwise, I missed it and I apologize, but it seems that ALL comments refer to "off the cob" versions of elotes, is that correct?

Is an "on the cob" version sold at any fixed venue north of Fullerton and in Cook county (as I wouldn't drive further than that just to try it, if even that far)?

Is it sold from carts somewhere in that same range? What days and times?

Both elotes and the off the cob version, called esquites, are sold at the Maxwell Street Market on Sundays. GNR Maxwell Street Market is not north of Fullerton, but it is the best place to try both items on a regular basis without having to hunt down a street vendor that may pop up in a different location on any given day.

For those confused about elotes, Jeff Mauro, our own chefjeff, is about to demonstrate how to make elotes on his show The Kitchen on the Food Network right now.

There is a prepared Mexican food stand (Cocina Azteca) at the Evanston Farmers Market that sell elotes (Mexican street corn) on a stick for $3.

Here is the Facebook page for Cocina Azteca
https://www.facebook.com/cocinaaztecaevanston/

Also in Evanston, Taco Diablo has Elote Esquite on the menu.
Taco Diablo
1026 Davis St
Evanston, Illinois

Cocina Azteca has a huge line at the Evanston farmer's market every Saturday. and they claim all of their stuff is super healthy. I've only bought from them once a few years ago at the Ethnic Art Festival in Evanston, and what I bought was good. They also sell at the Glenview farmer's market on Saturdays and the Schaumburg market I believe on Fridays, and I believe that they might sell at one of the Sunday markets too, but I forget which one.

Pretty good esquites for a gringo.

G Wiv wrote:Pretty good esquites for a gringo.

EsquitesLTH3.jpg

Where's the cup?

stevez wrote:Where's the cup?

I'm wearing it, when the bride tastes how spicy I made this she will kick me right in the huevos.

G Wiv wrote:

stevez wrote:Where's the cup?

I'm wearing it, when the bride tastes how spicy I made this she will kick me right in the huevos

If you are working on a healthier home version of esquites, you'll want to grill that corn in order to get some extra tasty flavor. You can also get grilled corn frozen. This is pretty useful.

When I do it I use grilled corn (mostly frozen and thawed, but home cooked and cut off the cob this time of year), lime juice and lime zest, ancho chile powder, and grated/crumbled cheese (cumin is optional, cayenne if you like, salt to taste). I don't think it needs the mayo or margarine, but ymmv.

polster wrote:There is a prepared Mexican food stand (Cocina Azteca) at the Evanston Farmers Market that sell elotes (Mexican street corn) on a stick for $3.

Here is the Facebook page for Cocina Azteca
https://www.facebook.com/cocinaaztecaevanston/

I went to the Glenview farmer's market Saturday (Cocina Aztec is there also). IMHO, the bar is lower than I had expected. I still think the "elotes cassarole" from a few years ago might be the target, and I don't expect to match that, but hopefully will provide more, and healthier, options.

The esquites recipe I've followed with great success over the years is basically this:

1/2 cup mayonesa
1/2 crema
1 cup ground or grated cotija cheese
1/4 cup freshly-chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime, freshly squeezed
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
1 Jalapeno pepper, finely minced (optional)

Add this to kernels that have already been cooked to your liking and removed from their cobs (mix it all together in a bowl). They can be steamed, boiled, grilled, roasted or what have you. And remember to use the back of a good chef's knife to scrape the remaining corn from the cob. Use as much or as little of the 'dressing' as you like to get the coverage you want. You can garnish it with crema, cilantro and/or ancho powder.

I think trying to make this dish healthier is a waste of time and energy. If eating more healthfully is the goal, what better way to enjoy corn in season that right off the cob, with a bit of butter and salt if you're feeling indulgent? The great thing about eating good corn in season is that it basically needs nothing to be wonderful.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I think trying to make this dish healthier is a waste of time and energy.
=R=

I agree that you may well be correct, that a "more healthy" elotes might be a fail in not fulfilling the taste requirements. From both reviewing recipes as well as my initial experiments I accept that I may fail.

And I thank you for your recipe. Every I recipe I collect (at least the ones I anticipate I would like if I made them) gives me ideas for my "reconstructed" elotes.

That said, my "thing" is to try to make healthier, and easier, versions of comfort foods. Some are epic success, at least for me, perhaps others not so much, only partly successful for others' tastes.

Yes, fresh corn can't get much better than buried in charcoal coals in the husk till slightly scorched...with or without butter. But that ear I missed and find 2 weeks later in the fridge..too dry to charcoal, and anyway, set up the grill for just one ear? Put in the microwave and cook it till it's toasty like parched corn. Love it. Do it with fresh corn too sometimes. So one goal is to find tricks to take second quality corn on the cob, or maybe even frozen corn, and make something that I like almost as well as traditional. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find something I like better than the traditional. Maybe using blue cheese? I know many don't like that, but for those that do, perhaps that could make up for omitting butter and sour cream? One early experiment with corn, squeeze pepper jack was amazingly good for the almost zero time and dirty dishes to prepare. Or what about Feta cheese which many people do like and is recommended by some web recipes? Or, in dips, on fruit and in other places I used strained fat free Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, same consistency, similar flavor and no fat, so plan to try that here. Or margarine instead of butter (Some places rated highly on this site use squeeze Parkay). Can I use a blowtorch to lightly "toast" frozen corn to imitate grilled?

Then traveling orthogonality....edamame instead of corn? peas (one poster above reported liking this)?peanuts? succotash? What about those green beans that weren't picked in time and have gotten tough...shell them and use them?

An example: my "pizza" made with all fresh, raw, ingredients (except for the meats), and using thin slices of oven dried & toasted eggplant instead of dough, I find I like better than traditional pizza. For me, pizza is the anchovies, sausage, etc I put on it, the fat and salt in the sauces doesn't matter. Actually prefer fresh tomato to the sauce. Others still like traditional better (I expect) but appreciate that they can enjoy my version without having to worry about skipping something else to make up for the fat, salt and calories.

--Carey

I can't find it now, but there was a recipe posted for an "elotes casserole" from the august picnic a few years ago.

It called for "one block of cotija cheese" and said probably cheapest at Aldi. Well, aldi stores carry different items by neighborhood, mine never heard of it.

The all Mexican store in the next town as well as several other stores with large Mexican concentrations, all have cotija ONLY in grated or shredded form. Is it possible that cotija goes by a different name in block form at this point in time? Or that because it is supposedly made from unpasteurized milk, it can only be sold shredded/grated?

diversedancer -

The recipe you mention is linked upthread in my post to you. Pre-shredded/grated cotija cheese would work fine.

The GP wrote:diversedancer -

The recipe you mention is linked upthread in my post to you. Pre-shredded/grated cotija cheese would work fine.

I assumed that it would work, but (a) I was curious, (b) the shredded/grated as sold is very fine, I'd prefer a little more texture in my final product and (c) at least with other cheeses I am told the first quality is sold as chunks and the seconds are grated.

The grated, which is more common, is also very dry, or so it seems, affecting the recipe overall, and compensating for that could change other things.

I also note that many recipes on the internet call for queso fresco instead of cotija...and in my field trips, queso fresco is ONLY sold in chunks, never grated, raising suspicions. And if queso fresco is close enough, and the rumor about first/second quality is true, that might be a reason to use queso fresco. Or is cotija vs queso fresco a religious issue?

I'd use parmesan before fresco. Not salty enough, not dry enough. Feta might do if you get a crumbly rather than a creamy one. Anything in a Mexican store labeled añejo would work. Or ricotta salata.

JoelF wrote:I'd use parmesan before fresco. Not salty enough, not dry enough. Feta might do if you get a crumbly rather than a creamy one. Anything in a Mexican store labeled añejo would work. Or ricotta salata.

The first time I ever encountered an elote, the vendor used Parmesan like one gets in a green can. I have a feeling nobody would use Parmesan from a block and freshly grate it.

Ah, yes, clarification of my earlier post. The grated cotija being too dry was for "elotes cassarole", as my two attempts at it came out feeling too dry compared to the esquites I bought in a mexican ice cream store and the elotes from Cocina Azteca at the Glenview farmers market. Granted I was making other alterations, and NOT using 15 ears or corn, so having to guess at how much grated cheese compared to "one block" whose size was not specified.

Dry is probably good for sprinkling on the surface of elotes and OK for mixing in esquites along with butter, mayo and/or sour cream...

I'd still rather have bigger pieces to feel more like cheese than just cheese flavoring. When I have used permesan or romano strings instead of grated on cooked dishes (like eggplant parmesan) or salads, it has always been more satisfying.

For just the flavor, one of my best and easiest Esquites experiments was (frozen) corn plus squeeze bottle "jalapeno cheese topping", grated cheese, cilantro and another secret flavoring. No butter, mayo or sour cream needed. I'd guess the cheese topping was constructed on a mayo like base.

It’s your dish. Do what you want. It sounds like you are WAY overthinking this.