One afternoon hubby and I drove into town to make our weekly purchase of diapers, this is when we lived in Driscoll and we would make the 20 minute drive to Corpus Christi to have access to larger stores.
As we were walking into the store I caught the smell of something familiar, really was I smelling roasted corn in Texas? Yup, parked in front of the store was a truck selling roasted corn to the public. I had never really thought of how the food of Mexico easily crosses into Texas. In Mexico roasted corn is street food, sold on Sunday in the plaza as hungry church members exit the Church, sold to waiting vehicles as they sit bumper to bumper waiting to cross into Brownsville, Texas. This past weekend in Blanco, Texas as we enjoyed the Lavender festival what did I see? A roasted corn truck, my memories of the weekly diaper trips came flooding back. I ordered my roasted corn and smiled as I happily savored the sweet kernels, walking hand in hand with my “big” girls’ ecstatic that I had no diapers to change. Enjoy!! Sweetlife 
Grilled Corn
adapted from local street vendor
8 ears of sweet corn
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup mayo
heat grill
1 cup freshly grated queso anejo
2 limes, cut into wedges
1. pull back husk from corn and remove stringy threads from corn, brush with melted butter.
2. combine chili powder, cayenne pepper and smoke paprika, set aside.
3. place corn on rack of an uncovered grill directly over heat with husks hanging over the edge or away from the heat source. grill for 12 to 14 minutes or until corn is caramelized and brown, turning every 2 minutes to cook evenly.
4. spread corn with mayo pretty thick (this is your glue), sprinkle cheese and spice mixture and squeeze lime over all
Visiting from Edible Mosaic. Love roasted corn. Looking forward to trying this.
Hi Sweetlife,
long time no write *kisses on cheeks*.
Mmmmmmmm love roasted corn. My parents come from Mauritius and my dad would always relay these stories of his youth. About roasted corn carefully laid out on charcoal; also street food.
Though I’ve had roasted corn, I’ve never had it with the paprika and the mayo like I’ve seen on…. “Nacho Libre”. Yes, the movie with Jack Black and how his partner Esqueleto would always be eating them.
Now I’m reminded of how awesome they look. Lovely 🙂
Mmmhhh, delicious! Wonderful when sprinkled with cheese.
Cheers,
Rosa
I’m originally from Trinidad & Tobago and Roasted Corn is very much considered street food and its oh so good. You add a new twist to the one I grew up with, going to give it a try.
That corn looks amazing and I bet it tastes even better! Nothing better than roasting to add that extra punch of flavor.
The aroma of the spices and the roasting of the corn is filling me. Happily. And the photo is so enticing – I want to pluck an ear oout of the picture.
Sounds great! I love roasted corn and yours in the last picture are so tempting!
What a fabulous meal. It looks and sounds delicious. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary
My most cherished memories of roasted corn was during our vacationing in my Nonna’s Italian village where locals would gather around and enjoy their harvest.
Yours is interestingly all dressed…sounds tasty. All they used to put on the corn was olive oil and sea salt…which was how I was trained to eat it ;o)
It was nice going back…thank you.
Flavourful wishes, Claudia
Dear Bonnie – There is NOTHING like roasted corn off the street. In India we have these wooden carts with 4 wheels called raydies and we’d always buy fresh roasted corn, char grilled and eat it with lime, salt and red chilly powder.
What a great recipe – I never would have thought to out may on.
Thank you for bringing back old memories ….good ones 🙂
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
The photo is just amazing… I feel I know corn a whole new way and can’t wait to make it… wow!
Nothing beats roasted corn. I think I smell the aromas from here…
Your recipe sounds perfect.
LL
oh yeah, that reminds me of my visits to Mexico, love that you shared this recipe – can’t wait to try it…..
Oh my gosh! Look at that golden char! It’s PERFECT! Gosh I love it! I’ve never been a corn person, but then I’ve never had it the way you’ve prepared it!
Your roasted corn looks beautiful! I love all those browned bits! And there is nothing better than a bit of spice and a bit of lime on extra-sweet corn. Yum!
i LOVE roasted corn–it’s truly one of my most favorite summer foods and one that i’d eat year-round if it was feasible. well done!
I love the taste of roasted corn! Haven’t had it in a long time and you’ve definitely put me in the mood for it…. Change of plans for this weekend 🙂
Magda
Nice, looks so yummy. Love the grill marks.
I love corn – anyway you make it and sweet Jesus!!! That second photo is so beautiful…. I wanna marry it!!
This is the BEST way to eat corn! I bet they smelled great! I also like the bright flavors.
Wow, this roasted corn looks amazing. It reminds me of the corn I had at a Cuban restaurant in NY — was so long ago, but I’ll never forget it. I still talk about it now! Pretty shots!
oh wow this entry caught my eye because that corn looks amazing but you say you lived in driscoll? i did too once upon a time! how long ago did you live there?
it’s such a small place … i miss it though.
Every evening around 6 p.m. I always see the guy with his corn cart going around the neighborhood. I’ve never had the urge to try one, but your version looks so good!
Wow, this looks fantastic.
Your words and images are so vivid and wonderful that I can almost smell the corn myself. I’ve always associated it with summer and barbeques. Your roasted corn looks amazing but what a pity you live so far away!
This is how they serve corn in Vanja’s homeland. Never as niblets on the table. Looks DELISH!
Love the recipe idea, too. I will try it this summer while there.
🙂
valerie
Nothing like the sweet sight and smell of corn on the cob to get all my fun summery memories brewing! Excellent pics too!
They had roasted corn and kettle corn trucks when I walked out of HEB the other day. How corny! Get it? 🙂
I wish we had roasted corn trucks here! Your corn looks really nice- it’s really hard to get sweet corn here too- the ones with white and yellow kernels =[ I’ve never had corn with mayo before….it sounds delicious! I’m going to try this next time we buy corn!
OMG! This corn looks sooooooo yummy. The pictures are awesome. Tomorrow at the Farmer’s Market I’ll be all over looking for corn. LOL
YUM! I cant wait to get access to a nice bbq to try these out
“caramelized and brown” That’s all I need to know about this grilled corn. Oh, the mayo is a very nice touch too! delish.
yumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyum.. well… you get the idea. 😉
Paz
Hey Bonnie, I know roasted corns smell wonderful! It’s perfect for summer. I went grocery shopping yesterday and saw lots of corns but didnt decide to purchase some. Man, I guess I have to go back and buy some!
I’ve have fond memories if my roasted corn had all the yummy toppings you described. I love them but still have memories of trying to eat them while still in braces – never a good combo with your mouth full of wire.
I’ve heard and been intrigued about the may cheese and pepper with the corn and now I have a recipe that will do me right. I cannot wait!!!
Hey Bonnie, I love roasted and grilled corn-it’s so good. Part of my family is from North Africa, and it is street food there too. Nice that you found it shopping in Texas.
Ooh, I went to Sarasota the other day to visit an Organic Farm, and I found organic corn for 25 cents an ear. I might have to roast some corn…
I love this roasted corn, I find it irresistible! Especially the way you made it with the spices and a bit of butter, heaven!
Chaskas!!! (that’s how they’re called in aguascalientes) OMG it is totally one of the things i miss the most about my hometown 🙂
Looks delicious, I will try this recipe the next time I do a BBQ.
They look so delicious, I will try this recipe the next time I do a BBQ.
love this roasted corn on the cob…looks so tempting…delicious!
Fabulous photos. Love corn and your recipe.
Carmen
Dear lord, I’m drooling. These look magnificent! That’s it. I’m busting the grill out this weekend. IF the rain stays away. Stupid Ohio weather! 🙂
Why is weekend still 4 days away. Can’t wait to heat up my grill and roast the corn. Roasted cored is a common street food in Nepal too. This reminds me of going to market with parents and munching on the corn. Spice is making me drool.
Nothing says “summer” quite like roasted corn! Oh, I’m craving it like crazy now. I actually like to smear sweet miso paste on mine!
Oh that looks so good. I’m supposed to be getting corn in this week’s CSA box, so this will be on our weekend menu.
Oh holy corn that looks good! I’ve never put mayo on my corn on the cob but I am about to begin with this recipe. Mmmm
Mmmm… that roasted corn sure looks good!
DROOL! We make something similar, but the addition of queso anejo really puts this over the top!
Yummmmmm!!! Nothing like roasted corn!! The aroma, the sweetness of the corn, the saltiness of the butter…and I LOVE that you added tanginess and a little spice to the mix with the lime, chili powder, and cayenne…great summer BBQ recipe!! Thanks for sharing!!
Roasted corn smell so good… It’s definitely a must for bbqs!
Oh yes – love the “kick” you put into this.
You think we can import one of those trucks up north? This corn looks delicious.
Probably one of my favorite things for sure, I am not craving roasted corn at midnight…thank you very much.
Such pretty pictures…I love the simplicity of your shots. Just stunning. When I lived in Houston, we would eat corn all summer long. I’m excited to get back to Texas in July…the corn tastes sweeter down south!
I can almost smell this roasting right now! Yum! These look incredibly delicious! We had roasted corn at a bbq last night but I can tell you, it wasn’t anything like this!