Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad

Chef Wes Rowe is the acclaimed burger cowboy behind the popular San Francisco Wes Burger pop-up and a master of barbecue. He whips up a mean side dish, too, so grab the last of the sweet summer corn and churn out a batch of grilled Mexican street corn salad. It's perfect next to a burger...and even better on top of one.

I love this recipe because it's a huge crowd-pleaser, which I think has a lot to do with the use of wood smoke. The recipe is inspired by elote, Mexican street corn, but I have found that smoking it over mesquite charcoal (or using wood chips in addition to regular charcoal) really transforms the dish. This recipe is super simple — the only work is grilling the corn and slicing it off the cob. Everything comes together real fast after that. I tend to prep all my other ingredients in a big bowl while I grill the corn. That way, you can choose to serve the dish hot or wait and serve it cold. I have also been using it as a topping for burgers and hot dogs lately, which makes it even better for tailgating and potlucks.