Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of corn
• 2 tablespoons of mayo
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• Chipotle powder (as much as you want)
• 1/2 lb of crisp bacon
• 5 oz of Queso Fresco
• 2 oz of crumbled feta cheese or cotija cheese (which I have been unable to locate)
• Fresh chopped cilantro
• Finely diced red onion
• Salt & pepper to taste

I am intrigued with the amount of different recipes that can be completed on the Blackstone flat top. Obviously not all of them will be winners, but this surely did not disappoint. The Blackstone actually came with a recipe, and a brief web search showed multiple different similar recipes. Some recipes called for canned corn, some called for frozen. For some reason, if the corn is off the cob, I have always preferred canned. I decided to take what I believed was the best of all of them to create this recipe.

This was the second attempt and it was consistent with the first. The first time I attempted this, it was for a gathering with a large group, so I doubled the ingredients list above — served alongside ribs and chicken I’d also cooked for the group. All ingredients except the cilantro were purchased from Aldi. This has stayed in steady rotation ever since — I’ve made it repeatedly from 2022 all the way through this year.

Prep work in advance:

The corn is placed in a colander, rinsed, and rested to get as much moisture out as possible.

The cilantro and onion are diced in advance, and I dice the queso in advance as well. The onion is optional depending on who’s eating it — we love onions, but a close friend who joins us regularly doesn’t, so it gets left out when she’s at the table and included when it’s just us.

Diced Feta or Cotija if you can find it

In a bowl I mix the mayo, sour cream, lime juice, chipotle powder, and feta or Cotija cheese.

I start the recipe on the Blackstone, cooking the bacon. As with the Blackstone, you need to have the temp dialed in, as the grill will get extremely hot. I shoot for about 375°F to cook the bacon and periodically check the temp with my temp gun. The goal is to retain the bacon grease to fry the corn in. The drained corn is then added to the hot grill in the bacon grease. It cooks for 5 to 10 minutes, with the goal of getting a char on the corn.

The crispy bacon can be crumbled or diced — I prefer to dice it up. The corn is then transferred into a bowl large enough to hold all the combined ingredients: the chopped cilantro and diced red onion, the diced queso, and the mayo/sour cream/lime juice/chipotle/feta mixture. Give it a stir to mix everything, and salt and pepper to taste.

I add the bacon last, in an attempt for it to retain the crunch.

Give it a final stir and then serve.

This is a surprisingly rich and savory dish that’s been liked by everyone who’s tried it so far. It’s a unique blend of crunchy, creamy, spicy, and sour from the combination of ingredients. I may continue to work the recipe and add ingredients — peppers, or a bit more heat — next time.