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Hatch Chile and Bacon Esquites cooked on a blackstone flattop grill, loaded with cheese and absolutely delicious

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Hatch Chile and Bacon Esquites cooked on a blackstone flattop grill, loaded with cheese and absolutely delicious. Perfect as a game day snack, a topping for tacos, or just an amazing side dish to serve for dinner!

If you’re a fan of elote, or mexican street corn, then there’s no way you’re not going to love esquites. It’s almost the same thing but off the cob.

And since it’s off the cob, you have the freedom get a little more creative with it and add some funn things into that you couldn’t if it was still on the cob

What is Esquites?

Esquites is a mexican street corn salad, often served in a cub if you ever find a street vendor serving it. I live near LA, so whenever we go to a LA Kings game, there’s two things I”m on the hunt for. Street meat, and a corn cup.

Authentic esquites are made with corn kernels that have been boiled, then are sauteed in butter.

The mexican corn in a cup recipe is then topped with all the similar toppings you’d find on elote.

It’s pretty much elote in a cup.

Ingredients for Hatch Chile and Bacon Esquites

So i’m putting my own twist on esquites for this recipe. I’m adding some fresh roasted hatch chiles and bacon, and cooking it all on my blackstone griddle.

I wouldn’t claim it an authentic esquites recipe, but it definitely makes for a diffrenent experience. It’s smokey, a hint of heat and cheesey. And when esquites are cooked on a blackstone, no one is going to complain!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Hatch Chiles: If it’s hatch chile season and you’re getting them roasted, they’ll got great for this recipe. You can even grill them on the fly. If it’s not hatch chile season and you haven’t frozen any, you can always go with canned hatch chiles.

An Anaheim pepper or poblano will work as a substitute as well.

And if you want a little more spice, add a jalapeno or serrano o the mix too!

Bacon: Get a good quality bacon, something nice and smokey, and a little thick.

Corn: Fresh White corn will be ideal. Frozen or canned will work as well, but I’m going for a little crunch to the corn, and fresh cut off the cob is the way to go.

Cheese: Traditional esquites uses cotija cheese. I’m more fond of queso fresco as it has a more mellow and smoother flavor. It’s subtle, but noticeable. And to add that “cheesy” factor feel free to add Monterey or queso quesadilla cheese as well.

Seasoning: You can go with chili powder, or tajin, but if you have a Trader Joes near you, I HIGHLY recommend giving their everything but the elote seasoning a shot. It’s perfect for this recipe!

Garnishes: Serve or squeeze in with a wedge of lime, add more queso fresco/cotija cheese, seasoning and cilantro!

How To make esquites on a blackstone

So you don’t NEED a Blackstone to make this recipe, but it sure makes it fun and add a nice char to the corn. There is more surface area to heat and you’ll get it cooked faster and with more flavor, because it’s not all crowded in a pan,. I highly recommend this method if you have a flattop grill.

Cook the bacon and roast the hatch chiles

First, you need to get your bacon and hatch chiles cooked. Place bacon over the medium zone heat, while roasting your hatch chiles (if they’re not roasted already) over your high heat zone. Continue to cook them until done, and chop up it all up into small pieces. You can keep it set aside or kept warm over the low heat zone of your griddle.

Sautee the corn

After removing your corn off the cob, add it to the gridle with a little oil and butter. Let it cook until it starts to char a bit

Add it all together

Next we’ll Add in the bacon and peppers, and season with your elote seasoning. Then I’ll add a little more butter and let it sautee, and then finish with adding the cheese and cook until its all melted.

Garnish and serve

Finally, after your cooking esquites on the blackstone are done, it’s time to garnish. Top with your elote seasoning, a little more queso fresco, and lime juice. Optionally you can add in a tablespoon of mayo or mexican crema if you want.

What to eat with esquites

Not sure what to eat with esquites? here’s some ideas:

Put it on a hot dog

Make tacos with esquites

Serve it along with carnitas

Put it on some lobster nachos

Hatch Chile and bacon esquites on the blackstone

Hatch Chile and Bacon Esquites cooked on a blackstone flattop grill, loaded with cheese and absolutely delicious

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 strips bacon
• 2 hatch chiles
• 1 jalapeno
• 4 ears white corn removed from cob
• 2 limes
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup queso fresco more for garnish
• 1/2 cup queso quesadilla cheese or any mexican blend
• 1-2 tsp elote seasoning or chili powder/tajin
• 1-2 tbsp mayonaise optional
• 1/4 cup cilantro

Instructions

• Cook bacon over the medium zone heat, while roasting your hatch chiles over your high heat zone. Cook until done and chop up it all up into small pieces. set aside or kept warm over the low heat zone of your griddle.
• Add corn to the griddle with a little oil . Let it cook until it starts to char a bit; about 5 minutes.
• Add in the bacon and peppers, and season with your elote seasoning. Add in butter and let it sautee, and then finish with adding the cheese and cook until its all melted.
• Top with your elote seasoning, a little more queso fresco, and lime juice. Optionally you can add in a tablespoon of mayo or mexican crema if you want. Enjoy!