Mexican Street Corn Brats
Inspired by elote, these Mexican Street Corn Brats are ideal for a summer celebration or easy weeknight meal! Spicy sausages are topped with fresh sweet corn, creamy lime sauce and tangy cheese.
Happy National Bratwurst Day (aka Bratsgiving)! Grilled brats are a go-to easy dinner for my husband and I all summer long. Pair with a few easy (sometimes store-bought, because real life) side dishes, and dinner is on the table really quick. But today I just went ahead and piled the side dish (roasted corn salad) right on top of the brats.
Inspired by elote, the classic Mexican street food of grilled corn slathered in a creamy sauce and sprinkled with cheese, these Mexican Street Corn Brats are ideal for Bratsgiving holiday celebrations. Don’t forget the lemon margaritas!
This month, Meijer stores in the Michigan area are partnering with Johnsonville to celebrate Bratsgiving by offering a variety of limited time only flavored brats (including Jalapeno Cheddar & Firecracker).
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For these Mexican Street Corn Brats, start with a package of Johnsonville Firecracker brats – they’re flavored with hot peppers for a nice bit of heat, which is key in this recipe.
Grill them up, and then garnish them with what is kind of a deconstructed elote – grilled sweet corn, crumbled cotija cheese, a lime-spiked creamy sauce, green onions, and a sprinkle of chile powder.
The amazing sweetness of fresh, in-season corn plays off the spiciness of the sausage in the best way possible. You’re going to love this recipe!
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Mexican Street Corn Brats
Ingredients
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ⅛ teaspoon chili powder plus additional for garnish
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 ears sweet corn shucked
- 1 package Johnsonville Firecracker Brats 5 brats
- 5 hot dog buns
- ¼ cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
Instructions
- In small bowl, stir garlic, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice and chili powder until well combined. Transfer to refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Preheat grill for indirect grilling over medium-low heat. Spread 1 tablespoon of butter on each ear of corn; wrap corn in foil.
- Transfer corn and brats to grill over indirect heat. Cook 15 minutes, turning corn and brats occasionally.
- Move corn and brats to direct heat and raise temperature to medium-high. Cook 5 minutes longer or until sausage is browned and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F, turning corn and brats frequently. Remove corn and brats from grill.
- Carefully unwrap corn and cut corn kernels from cobs.
- Place brats in buns; top with mayonnaise mixture, corn, cheese, onions and additional chili powder.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville. The opinions and text are all mine.
Great recipe, my love. The spicy kick of the sausage paired perfectly with the sweet Michigan corn. It was a spectacular homage to Mexican street corn.
Yum, yum, YUM!!! How I wish my stomach could handle the firecracker brats. Unfortunately it can’t, and my husband also no longer likes much heat in his food. One of the perils of growing old, I guess. It wouldn’t be quite as interesting using stadium brats, but the idea of doing brats with street corn is brilliant. Actually, I would probably wrap the whole thing in a tortilla, since we are in tortilla country (and I like tortillas far better than any bread). Is there a better substitute for the firecracker brats than stadium brats?
Hi Susan! Jeff and I just ate these again for dinner last night, and we both agreed that they might be our favorite recipe all year. The spicy brats are a nice balance to the corn, which is SO sweet in Michigan this time of year (almost like candy!). But, if you can’t do spicy, I would just recommend any other type of pretty savory brat. Perhaps even a beer-flavored or soaked brat? And I LOVE the tortilla idea. Now I want to try it that way!
We tried these last night, using cheese brats, and they were good. BUT, we have decided that there is a reason you used the firecracker brats, and will do that next time. It could be that I should have used more sauce. I actually made them as burritos, wrapped up in mesquite/whole wheat tortillas (can’t abide hotdog buns).
Hi Susan – Yeah, the firecracker brats were spicy, which balanced the sweetness of the corn really well. I think with some adjustments, you might be able to make it work. Maybe a touch of hot sauce is needed somewhere?
Great idea to add hot sauce, Lori! I just happen to have some Cholula in the fridge. We’re having them again tomorrow or the next day, and I’ll sprinkle some hot sauce on. Thank you for solving my problem.
Yes. Cholula is the PERFECT hot sauce for this, too!