I Cloned the Mexican Street Corn Recipe From Baja 328 in Beacon

The Mexican street corn at one of Beacon's hottest restaurants is out of this world, and now you can make it yourself.

The only thing better than ordering one of your favorite dishes at a great local restaurant is learning how to make it at home for a fraction of the cost. Sometimes, however, there are menu items that seem a bit too complicated or exotic to try and replicate in your home kitchen. I always felt this way about the Mexican street corn I fell in love with at Baja 328 in Beacon.

I've had Mexican street corn before, but nothing as good as the one served up at this cool little tequila bar on Main Street. While Baja 328 serves up some of the tastiest tacos in the Hudson Valley, it's the Mexican street corn that really steals the show. The salty cheese, a sweet burst of lime and just enough heat make this one of my favorite menu items in all of Beacon.

After successfully cloning the "Priest Choker" pasta recipe from Il Figlio Enoteca, I gained enough confidence to tackle this tasty street corn and I'm so glad I did. Determined to crack the code of the recipe and make it myself, I researched several different sources to find out exactly what's in the recipe and how to duplicate it in a home kitchen.

It turns out that Mexican street corn is really all about the cheese. Specifically, a Mexican cheese called Cotija. Dry and extremely salty, the cheese doesn't melt very easily, which allows it to remain light and fluffy on a hot piece of corn. A blend of creamy ingredients is used as the "glue" that keeps the cheese attached to the corn.

There are several recipes that I combined together to make this version of street corn that closely mimics the one at Baja 328. It's much cheesier than traditional Mexican street corn which makes it so delicious.

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn
• 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic
• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons of sour cream
• 8 tablespoons of finely grated Cotija cheese (and more for dusting)
• fresh cilantro chopped into fine pieces
• chili powder
• fresh ground pepper
• salt

First, roast the corn on the grill. I prefer simply wrapping the shucked ears in foil and putting them on the grill for 15 minutes or so.

Next, mix together the garlic, mayonnaise, sour cream, eight tablespoons of Cotija cheese, a handful of cilantro and season with salt (not too much, as the cheese is already pretty salty). Then, take the lime and grate about half of the zest into the mixture. Cut the lime and squeeze the juice from both halves into the bowl as well. You'll wind up with a paste. If it's too loose and watery, you may need to add in some extra cheese. To get that Baja 328 taste, you'll also need to grind some fresh peppercorns into the mix as well. Three to five twists of a grinder seem to be just enough.

When the corn is done, let it cool just a little bit, and then generously slather each ear with the paste. You may want to use a brush or simply dunk each ear in the bowl and use a spatula to make sure it gets in every crevice.

Take a plate filled with a heaping pile of more grated Cotija cheese and roll each ear of corn in it. While many recipes call for sprinkling it on, to get that same recipe from Baja 328, you need to load up the cheese until each ear is almost completely covered in that soft white cheese. Afterward, you can sprinkle some chili powder on top for heat and add some more finely chopped cilantro as a garnish.

This recipe is almost an exact clone of the street corn at Baja 328 and is a guaranteed hit at your next barbecue. You can even make the sauce ahead of time and put it in the fridge for easy prep when entertaining.

If you try this recipe, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop us a text on our mobile app and, if you snap a picture, we'd love to see how it turned out.