Esquites, abroad and at home

Esquites, abroad and at home

Last week at the Oak Park Farmers’ Market, the corn was coming out in force – not as forcefully as it will in a few weeks, but enough so that people could start going home with decent ears and cooking them up for breakfast or lunch, immediately, which is certainly the best way to eat fresh corn.

In a small town outside Huatulco, Oaxaca, one afternoon last month, I spotted a little woman serving passersby Styrofoam cups full of something. My chow-dar lit up: this is exactly the sort of thing I like to see when I travel: local food, that I can’t immediately identify, prepared on the street for the locals.



Turns out, the lady was making esquites, which is corn cut off the cob, mixed with a kind of parmesan cheese and a kind of mayonnaise, spritzed with lime and sprinkled with chile.

We loved the combination of flavors: the carbo-blandness of the corn (much less sweet and much chewier than our Midwestern varieties), the richness of the cheese and mayo, the tongue-perking sourness of the lime and the heat of the chiles, all combined to make a spectacularly simple combination of flavors, all in a cup.

When I got back to the States, I used corn from the Oak Park Farmers’ Market to make my own esquites. I used good quality Parmesan Reggiano, Hellman’s “light” mayo (all we had, sadly), small Yucatecan-type limes, and some pepper flakes (I had roasted two chiles arboles and ground them up).



The ingredients I used were “better” (real parm and mayo, rather than shelf-stable varieties) than the materials the lady used in Oaxaca, but I felt the balance of ingredients used was maybe, somehow, not right. I liked my Oak Park version of esquites well enough – it was the best I could do – but they couldn’t compare with what that street vendor lady was making. Perhaps I had no right to expect they would be.

HI,

Are esquites what we call (or is it just I) elotes in a cup?

I recently had elotes-in-a-cup at Lewis Market in Waukegan:


Elotes or esquites? by cal222, on Flickr

My Mexican relatives always have mayo on the table when eating corn. It was not something I really appreciated until I had an elote.

Regards,

Madame C2, yes, elotes in a cup, that's it. I think one thing I did "wrong" was to use ground-up chiles arboles. I believe my lady in Oaxaca used a kind of prepared chile powder mix (maybe with lime flavor and sugar?). Looking for CU pix.

And that "mayo," is it really mayonnaise? How could it be? In the sun for hours, no refrigeration. Must be a kind of shelf-stable crema, right?

They had these at Maxwell street when we went there a few months ago. I think they use real mayo maybe here they ice it I can not remember. They cut the corn off the cob into a cup mix it with mayo and parm, put a squeeze of lime and sprinkle some chiili peppers on it. I think the peppers were dried chli flakes.

I have made these many times, I was told by a street vender long ago to use ground Piquin pepper and cotija cheese. I have always been happy with the outcome. Don't forget the butter.

Don, butter is kind of fancy, don't you think?

Incidentally, once I got within 30 feet of this lady I knew what she was selling. We've seen esquites, if not by name, all over town for a while. Way less sloppy than elotes (on the cob).

They sell elotes all over my hood and are usually parked outside of Tierra Caliente, or walking carts down Ashland or nearby streets. In this barrio they most usually contain squeezed parkay liquid margarine, grated parm, mayo, lime and chile powder or as my love calls it a "heart attack in a cup". Whatever it's called, it's sabroso.

At the Latino market out in the Kansas City KS woods, the Salvadorans sell a kind of roasted ear of corn, (grilled, actually) loaded down with powdered chilis and cheese, and finished off with Mexican mayo. The mayo is obviously essential. Maybe the Mexican mayo is stabilized somehow so it doesn't go biologically off in the heat? I know that mayo is safer than we think bcz there's enough vinegar in it to lower the pH. At least that's what I've read. YMMV.

Those esquites look delicious, btw!

Geo

Japanese mayo (Kewpie brand) doesn't need refrigeration. Or put it this way, I never saw it refrigerated.

Thanks for the inspiration Mr. Hammond, made up a batch with our grilled corn at Barn & Company. 'Dangerous' Dan Maloney and I both agree has real potential to go on the menu.

I usually do this on the cob. I have experimented with the seaonings including Cajun, Old Bay, Chili powders, etc.. I've also used corn and fried it in lard or bacon grease till nice and caramelized.

How did the Old Bay work out? That sounds like something I'd really dig.

G Wiv wrote:Thanks for the inspiration Mr. Hammond, made up a batch with our grilled corn at Barn & Company. 'Dangerous' Dan Maloney and I both agree has real potential to go on the menu.

Cool, man. I wonder how many restaurants, Mexican included, serve this street food. Not many, I'm guessing.

David Hammond wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Thanks for the inspiration Mr. Hammond, made up a batch with our grilled corn at Barn & Company. 'Dangerous' Dan Maloney and I both agree has real potential to go on the menu.

Cool, man. I wonder how many restaurants, Mexican included, serve this street food. Not many, I'm guessing.

They serve it at Pecking Order in Uptown as a side, off the husk.

Good call, Gary! What cheese did you use?

That'll SELL, that will.

Geo

Dlongs wrote:

David Hammond wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Thanks for the inspiration Mr. Hammond, made up a batch with our grilled corn at Barn & Company. 'Dangerous' Dan Maloney and I both agree has real potential to go on the menu.

Cool, man. I wonder how many restaurants, Mexican included, serve this street food. Not many, I'm guessing.

They serve it at Pecking Order in Uptown as a side, off the husk.

What an excellent name for a chicken place!

Geo wrote:Good call, Gary! What cheese did you use?

Used what we had on hand, parmesan. Also no margarine so I used the chipotle honey butter we top our cornbread with, also folded in diced bacon, minced jalapeño and red onion. Grill roasted corn, sour cream, lime and a little fresh toasted/ground guajillo rounded out the list of ingredients. A turn in a 450^ convection oven and first try proved eminently edible. If it makes it to the menu it will probably not have bacon, be nice to have one more non meat item for the occasional vegetarian.

G Wiv wrote:

Geo wrote:If it makes it to the menu it will probably not have bacon, be nice to have one more non meat item for the occasional vegetarian.

Probably a smart menu move, but bacon seems like an excellent addition.

Yeah but bacon ain't authentic Messican.... Assuming the public cares about authenticity.

Hmmmm, strike that comment as irrelevant... as if

Geo

zoid wrote:How did the Old Bay work out? That sounds like something I'd really dig.

I liked it. I use Old Bay a lot, even cottage cheese.

zoid wrote:Cool, man. I wonder how many restaurants, Mexican included, serve this street food. Not many, I'm guessing

They've had it for years at Comiskey, although it hardly counts as a restaurant. One of my favorite 1-2 punches is the elotes stand followed up by the flautas stand. A terrific ballgame snack.

Ursiform wrote:

zoid wrote:Cool, man. I wonder how many restaurants, Mexican included, serve this street food. Not many, I'm guessing

They've had it for years at Comiskey, although it hardly counts as a restaurant. One of my favorite 1-2 punches is the elotes stand followed up by the flautas stand. A terrific ballgame snack.

Not sure how the coding went wrong the the above quote starting "Cool, man." is from Hammond, not me - FYI

David Hammond wrote:Cool, man. I wonder how many restaurants, Mexican included, serve this street food. Not many, I'm guessing.

Bad Dog Tavern has an elotes bowl on their menu. It is described as "Mexican-style husked corn on the cob served in a bowl with salt, chili powder, butter, parmesan cheese, lime juice, mayonnaise and a touch of Valentina sauce. Served with fresh chips." It's okay, but I'd much rather hit one of the carts in Rogers Park and get my corn in a styrofoam cup.

4535 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 334-4040
http://www.baddogtavern.com/

I did the "on the cob" version at home, but w/o mayo (DH is not a mayo fan). You really need the mayo to make everything stick, unless you let the corn cool, and use butter that stays partially solid. REALLY tasty

This little guy was really enjoying his elote at the Maxwell Market a few weeks ago.

I think what turned me against the elotes at Maxwell st. was the liquid parkay. That gave it a synthetic yucky taste and I did not like it. I think better can be made at home or maybe some cart that does not use that stuff.

toria wrote:I think what turned me against the elotes at Maxwell st. was the liquid parkay. That gave it a synthetic yucky taste and I did not like it. I think better can be made at home or maybe some cart that does not use that stuff.

I'm not sure if I've seen an elote vendor in Chicago use anything but liquid Parkay.