Slather that grilled corn with sriracha-lime-honey mayonnaise

Grill the freshest corn you can find, and dress it up with creamy mayo, zesty lime, sweet honey, spicy sriracha, and salty cheese, to take the sweet, slightly nutty, lightly charred, juicy corn kernels to a whole new level.

This is a riff on elote, the traditional Mexican street corn. Elote is sweet corn that is grilled in the husk, then the husk is peeled back to serve as a kind of handle and the corn is slathered in a creamy, chili-lime sauce and rolled in salty cheese. (By the way, Kenji over at Serious Eats has a great recipe for elote if you want to try it.)

But elote is kind of a lot of work, in my opinion. So I was mighty intrigued when my Aunt Katy came up with this wonderful variation that has a lot of the same great flavors but happens to be a lot less labor-intensive than true elote.

You start with however many ears of sweet corn you want – the freshest you can get. And it's the time of year when you can get it really fresh from a farmer near you so there's no reason not to. Husk the ears and rub them with olive oil and toss them on the grill for a few minutes, turning regularly to get an even, light char on all sides. Then it's time to make yer sauce. Get out the mayonnaise, sriracha, lime and honey.

Zest that lime. Then juice it. In that order. I had a brain fart and forgot to zest it before I cut it in half and started juicing it – definitely harder to get that skin off at that point. Mix in the mayo, sriracha, and honey, and a pinch of salt, and stir until smooth. Then slather it all over the corn. Don't be shy. Then sprinkle cheese all over it!

Take a bite. The creamy mayo, zesty lime, sweet honey, spicy sriracha, and salty cheese take the sweet, slightly nutty, lightly charred, juicy corn kernels to a whole new level. If you have any sriracha lime honey mayo sauce – it's great with shrimp or chicken if you wanted to make a salad or use it as a dipping sauce.

Grilled corn with sriracha, lime, honey mayonnaise
Serves 4

4 ears of sweet corn, husked
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
A generous squirt of sriracha – probably around 1 teaspoon but taste the sauce and add more if you like things spicier
Zest & juice of one organic lime
1 teaspoon honey
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated cotija cheese (though you can also use grated Parmesan or Romano if you can't find cotija)

1. Preheat and clean your grill. You want a medium heat. While it's heating, rub the ears of corn with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Place the ears on the grill and cook, turning with tongs every 2 minutes or so, to ensure even cooking on all sides, until lightly browned. Remove from the grill and mix up your sauce by combining the mayo, sriracha, honey, lime juice and zest and salt and pepper. Take a taste and adjust, as needed, until you're happy with the flavors.

3. Slather the corn with the sriracha mayonnaise then sprinkle it all over with the grated cheese before serving.

Related post on Garden of Eating: Savory Corn Fritters