Deborah M. Schneider
Executive Chef  |  Partner  |  SOL Mexican Cocina
Recipe from ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge

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Just up the street from my favorite taco stand in Ensenada, a neatly dressed elderly gentleman will sometimes appear with a basket of sweet corn. He sets up shop on the corner near the bus stop in late morning and carefully grills each ear of corn until it is perfectly cooked. By early afternoon, he has sold his basketful of corn and vanished. The slow-roasted corn he makes is something special – with a squirt of creamy, lime-spiked salsa and a dusting of fresh-ground guajillo chile perfect complements to the sweet, a bit chewy, and intensely smoky corn.

Makes 6 servings, but may be doubled or tripled for a crowd

•  6 cups water

•  Kosher salt

•  6 ears sweet corn, shucked and trimmed

•  ¼ cup mayonnaise

•  Juice of 1 lime, preferably a Mexican limon, or to taste

•  1 tablespoon ground guajillo, in a shaker

1. In a nonreactive container or a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag, combine the water and 1/3 cup salt. Swish to dissolve the salt.

2. Add the corn to the brine and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.

3. Heat a grill on medium-high heat. Wrap each wet ear in foil and grill for 20 minutes, turning every few minutes to roast on all sides. The corn is done with the kernels are softened.

4. While the corn is grilling, mix the mayonnaise and lime juice to make a sauce. It should have the consistency of heavy cream; add water to think, if necessary. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

5. Serve the corn still in the foil. Let diners season the corn to their taste with drizzles of sauce and sprinkles of ground chile and salt.