Gordon Ramsay Street Corn Dip Recipe

Gordon Ramsay’s street corn dip turns his Mexican grilled corn into a warm, scoopable bowl of charred sweetcorn, chipotle butter, lime and crumbled cheese. It comes together in about twenty minutes and serves six with tortilla chips. The char on the corn is what carries the whole dip.

Gordon doesn’t publish a corn dip, but he makes the parts. His grilled corn with chipotle chilli butter, which he cooks in this video and in Ultimate Fit Food, is his version of Mexican street corn. This dip folds that same chipotle butter through a creamy base.

The step that makes or breaks it is how you cook the corn. You char it hard in a hot, dry pan until it blackens in spots, then add a splash of water so it steams through and cooks tender. Skip the water and the kernels stay raw and crunchy under the colour.

Gordon Ramsay Street Corn Dip

Course: Appetizer, Snack, SideCuisine: Mexican, BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

240

kcal

Total time

25

minutes

Built on the chipotle chilli butter from Gordon’s Ultimate Fit Food grilled corn, this warm sharing dip mixes that smoky butter into soured cream and crumbled Lancashire cheese. Scoop it with tortilla chips. Serves six.

Ingredients

• For the chipotle butter:

• 50g (3½ tbsp) butter, softened

• 1-2 dried chipotle chillies, soaked in hot water and finely chopped (or 1-2 tsp chipotle paste)

• Small handful of coriander, finely chopped

• For the dip:

• 4 corn cobs (or 400g/14 oz tinned or frozen sweetcorn)

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 150ml (5 fl oz) soured cream

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise

• 100g (3½ oz) Lancashire cheese, crumbled (or feta)

• 1 garlic clove, finely grated

• Zest and juice of 1 lime

• 2 spring onions, finely sliced

• Sea salt and black pepper

• Extra coriander and red chilli, to serve

• Tortilla chips, to serve

Directions

• Make the chipotle butter: Soak the dried chillies in hot water for ten minutes, then drain and chop finely. Mash them into the softened butter with the chopped coriander and a little seasoning. Set aside.
• Char the corn: If using cobs, slice off the kernels. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan until very hot, add the corn in a single layer and leave it to char for 3 to 4 minutes before stirring, until blackened in spots.
• Steam it through: Add a splash of water to the pan and cook for a few minutes more until the water evaporates and the corn is tender. Tip into a bowl to cool slightly.
• Melt the butter through: While the corn is still warm, stir the chipotle butter through it so it melts and coats every kernel.
• Mix the dip: Fold in the soured cream, mayonnaise, most of the cheese, the garlic, lime zest and juice, and the spring onions. Season, then taste for lime and heat.
• Serve: Spoon into a bowl, scatter with the rest of the cheese, extra coriander and chilli, and serve warm with tortilla chips.

FAQs

What kind of corn is best for street corn dip?

Fresh cobs give the best flavour, because the kernels are sweeter and blacken better than frozen. UK sweetcorn is at its peak from July to September, so that’s when fresh cobs are cheapest and worth using. Slice the kernels off raw before they go in the pan.

Outside those months, tinned or frozen sweetcorn works fine all year. Drain it well and pat it dry first, because wet corn steams and won’t take on colour. Frozen is better than tinned here, as it holds a firmer bite.

What is chipotle and where do I find it in UK shops?

Chipotle is a smoked, dried jalapeño, and Gordon calls it a chilli with an amazing smoky flavour. He soaks the dried pods in hot water, then drains and chops them into the butter. That smoke is what makes this taste like Mexican street corn rather than plain creamy sweetcorn.

In UK shops, look for whole dried chipotle or chipotle paste in the world-food aisle, with Gran Luchito the easy brand to find. The paste is the quick swap if you can’t get the dried pods. A little carries a lot of heat, so start small.

What cheese works if I can’t get cotija?

The classic Mexican cheese is cotija, salty and crumbly, but it’s hard to find here. Gordon reaches for Lancashire on his grilled corn, which crumbles the same way and brings a similar salty tang. That British swap is something no other street corn dip page tells you.

Feta is the other easy stand-in, just as crumbly though a little sharper. Whichever you use, crumble most of it through the warm dip and keep a handful back to scatter on top. A few crumbles of his chunky guacamole on the side rounds out the Mexican spread.

Is street corn dip served hot or cold?

This one is best warm, soon after mixing, while the chipotle butter is still melted and the corn holds its char. The warmth keeps the cheese soft and the dip scoopable, so put it out as soon as it’s mixed.

It doesn’t store brilliantly, and that’s worth being honest about. Chilled, the butter firms up and the soured cream stiffens, so leftovers need a gentle warm-through and a fresh squeeze of lime to loosen them again.

How do you make it into a meal, not just a dip?

The same mix is brilliant spooned over other things, so don’t think of it as only a dip. Fold it through rice, pile it on a baked potato, or spoon it over his seared beef tacos for a proper Mexican plate. The charred corn and chipotle butter lift anything they touch.

It also doubles back into corn itself. If you have cobs left, his crisp sweetcorn fritters use the same kernels for a different dish, so one bag of corn stretches across two recipes.