How to Make Chef John's Mexican Street Corn Dip Recipe

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Chef John transforms a beloved street food into the ultimate party appetizer with his Mexican Street Corn Dip recipe! In this video, he walks you through how to mix, bake, and serve this bold, crowd-pleasing dish that’s perfect for game day, potlucks, or taco night.

Transcript

00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Mexican Street Corn Dip.

00:08That's right, we're turning something called a lote into a very party-friendly dip.

00:13And other than on the cob with butter and salt, I think this is the best way to enjoy sweet summer corn.

00:21And to get started, let me show you what I think is the easiest way to get the kernels off the cob.

00:26And that would be to place a ramekin or a coffee cup upside down in a bowl.

00:30And then we'll stand the corn up and hold the tip, and we will carefully slice straight down.

00:36And with that ramekin at the bottom, our knife's able to go all the way to the bottom of the cob without hitting the bowl.

00:41And it makes for a really safe, fast way to do this job.

00:45Oh, and once we're done, I like to take the back of the knife and kind of scrape down,

00:49which is going to squeeze out a little bit of that really sweet, nice, starchy corn juice,

00:53which I would like to have going into my dip, and you should too.

00:57But anyway, no matter what method you use, we're going to need the corn from four years.

01:02And once that's set, we'll head to the stove, where we have a generous amount of olive oil set over medium-high heat.

01:08And what we'll do is transfer in our corn, and we'll kind of pat that down and smooth it out into a nice even layer,

01:14at which point we'll just leave it alone for a few minutes, or until it starts to lightly brown.

01:20And you know that started to happen when the corn starts to pop.

01:24So please be careful.

01:26And once that happens, what we'll do is give it a quick stir, and then add the rest of the ingredients,

01:31which will include some kosher salt, some cayenne, some freshly ground black pepper,

01:38a very generous amount of chili powder, plus a nice big pinch of oregano,

01:43preferably Mexican, but any oregano will do.

01:47And then we'll finish up with some finely diced red onion, and we'll go ahead and give everything a stir.

01:52And then we'll continue cooking, stirring occasionally for like two minutes.

01:55All right, for this dip, I do not want the corn well done.

01:59We are just taking off the raw edge.

02:01And what we'll do once this has cooked for a couple minutes is simply turn off the heat and let it cool down.

02:08And by the way, fair warning, that starchy corn liquid is going to kind of caramelize to the bottom of the pan

02:12and get kind of dark brown, and it's going to mix with those dark chili powders,

02:16and it's going to look like it's almost too dark.

02:19But trust me, it's not.

02:20And you'll see that when we mix everything together.

02:22But anyway, like I said, we'll turn off the heat and let that sit.

02:27And we'll move on to the actual dip, which is going to start with some room-temperature cream cheese.

02:32Oh, and no need to dirty another bowl.

02:35We can just use the one we use for the corn.

02:38We are also going to want some top-shelf mayonnaise, as well as a nice big dollop of sour cream.

02:43And then we will follow that with some garlic powder,

02:46as well as a generous amount of a finely grated Mexican cheese called cotija,

02:50which is sort of like a mild Parmesan, and you could definitely substitute that instead.

02:56And then what we'll do is go ahead and briefly spatulate this,

02:59just to sort of cream everything together,

03:01before we transfer in our corn and spice mixture.

03:04And we will also want to squeeze in at least one whole lime.

03:08And I know you're thinking that corn's too dark,

03:10but again, that's just the caramelization from the pan and that toasted chili powder.

03:15And you'll see, once we start mixing this,

03:17it's going to turn into this beautiful toasty orange color.

03:20But before we mix, let's toss in some freshly chopped cilantro.

03:25And that's it.

03:25We'll take our spatula and blend this until it's thoroughly combined.

03:29Oh, and speaking of dark charred corn,

03:32the original dish this is based on, which is called a lotte,

03:35is actually mostly corn that's charred over an open fire,

03:39and either sauced and spiced and eaten right off the cob,

03:42or shaved off at that point,

03:43and then tossed with the mayo and chili powder and lime, etc.

03:46And that is an incredible thing to eat.

03:49But like I said, we're going to turn this into a party dip,

03:51which is why we're stretching it out and using things like cream cheese.

03:55And of course, feel free to give it a taste now.

03:58But like all dips, after we wrap this and chill it in the fridge,

04:01we will give it another taste

04:03and decide if we want more spice or more lime or more salt.

04:06So this is just a little bit of a sneak preview before we wrap it up.

04:10And we'll go ahead and pop that in the fridge for at least an hour,

04:13but longer is probably even better.

04:15And while that was chilling,

04:17I decided to make an extra optional garnish for the top.

04:20So I threw a couple cloves of garlic and a sliced up Fresno chili

04:23into some avocado oil.

04:26And I added a pinch of salt and a little bit of smoked paprika.

04:30And then I pureed it nice and fine

04:32and eventually passed it through a fine strainer

04:34to make basically a very garlicky Fresno chili oil.

04:39And by the way, it's going to be very cloudy when you first make it

04:41because of all the air bubbles.

04:43But once you wrap this and let it sit,

04:45it will deepen in color and look much more like a chili oil.

04:49And while it is optional,

04:50I think that's going to be beautiful drizzled over the top of our finished dip,

04:54which at some point will be finished chilling.

04:56And if we're happy with how it tastes,

04:58and I was very happy,

05:00we will transfer that into some kind of serving platter or bowl.

05:03And then as far as garnishing goes,

05:05I'm going to sprinkle over some more of our grated cotija cheese,

05:09followed by, if we made it,

05:10some of our garlic Fresno chili oil.

05:13And instead of that,

05:14you could also do a fine dice of the Fresno chili.

05:16But I love how this looks,

05:18and it adds a little bit of richness,

05:20plus that little kiss of raw garlic,

05:23which will give us some aioli vibes.

05:25And then I finished up with a little more red onion

05:27before a final scattering of torn cilantro leaves.

05:32And that's it.

05:32Our lote-inspired Mexican street corn dip

05:35is ready to enjoy,

05:37which we really want to do next to a nice big pile of crispy tortilla chips.

05:42And I'm going to go ahead and grab one of those and dig in

05:45to see how we did.

05:47And that, my friends,

05:48other than being on the cob with lots of butter and salt,

05:51is my favorite way to enjoy sweet summer corn.

05:54Okay, the sweetness and crunch of that,

05:57paired with the heat from the cayenne and the chili powder,

05:59and that Fresno chili oil,

06:01is an amazing combo.

06:03With everything being balanced and cooled down a little bit

06:06by that creamy dip base,

06:08to me, this just makes for the perfect summer dip.

06:10And once you start eating this,

06:12you will quickly realize it is nearly impossible to stop.

06:16So I didn't.

06:17I just kept eating.

06:19And of course, I made this super spicy

06:21and put a ton of cayenne in.

06:23So I will probably list normal human amounts

06:25of the ingredients in the written recipe.

06:27But of course, everything is to taste.

06:30So please feel free to adjust everything to your liking.

06:33I mean, you are, after all, the wily coyote

06:35of this dip-inspired by Elote.

06:37But whether you adjust this or make it as shown,

06:40I really do hope you give this a try soon.

06:43So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts,

06:47a printable written recipe,

06:48and much more info as usual.

06:50And as always, enjoy.

06:54And as always, enjoy.

06:55And as always, enjoy.

06:56And as always, enjoy.

06:57And as always, enjoy.

06:58And as always, enjoy.

06:59And as always, enjoy.

07:00And as always, enjoy.

07:01And as always, enjoy.

07:02And as always, enjoy.

07:03And as always, enjoy.

07:04And as always, enjoy.

07:05And as always, enjoy.

07:06And as always, enjoy.

07:07And as always, enjoy.

07:08And as always, enjoy.

07:09And as always, enjoy.

07:10And as always, enjoy.

07:11And as always, enjoy.

07:12And as always, enjoy.

07:13And as always, enjoy.

07:14And as always, enjoy.

07:15And as always, enjoy.

07:16And as always, enjoy.

07:17And as always, enjoy.

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