Jamie Oliver Sriracha Corn

Jamie Oliver’s sriracha corn grills whole corn cobs on the barbecue until charred and softened, slices the kernels off, then tosses them in a dressing of mayo, sriracha, lime zest and lime juice with sliced spring onions. Four cobs, 15 minutes, 153 kcal. It’s a side dish, not a main, and Oliver designs it for a bigger barbecue spread.

The recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s BBQ book. This is the simplest recipe in the entire Oliver set, five ingredients plus the corn, and it’s the fastest at 15 minutes. The idea borrows from Mexican elote (grilled corn with mayo, chilli and lime), but Oliver swaps the traditional chilli powder and cotija cheese for sriracha and keeps everything lighter.

The step that makes it different from just eating corn off the cob is slicing the kernels off after grilling. Cutting the charred corn into loose kernels means every piece gets coated in the sriracha-lime dressing, so you eat it with a fork rather than gnawing at a cob, and the dressing reaches every kernel rather than dripping off a round surface.

Jamie Oliver Sriracha Corn

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Sides, AppetizersCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

153

kcal

Total time

15

minutes

Jamie Oliver’s charred corn side from his BBQ book: grilled corn sliced off the cob and tossed in sriracha mayo with lime and spring onions. Five ingredients, 15 minutes, 153 kcal. The quickest, lightest barbecue dish in the set. Serves four as a side.

Ingredients

• 4 corn on the cobs

• 2 tablespoons mayo (or make your own)

• 1 tablespoon sriracha chilli sauce

• 1-2 limes

• 2 spring onions

Directions

• Grill the corn:Light the barbecue with a graduated setup. Place the corn cobs on the hot zone for 10 minutes, rolling them with tongs between the medium and cool zones to control the charring, until softened and nicely charred. Remove to a board.
• Make the dressing:Mix the mayo and sriracha, finely grate in the zest of 1 lime and squeeze in the juice.
• Slice and toss:Cut the corn kernels off the cobs, toss with the dressing and season. Trim and finely slice the spring onions, scatter over. Adjust with more lime juice if needed.

FAQs

How is this different from Mexican elote?

Same family, lighter build. Traditional elote is grilled corn on the cob smeared with mayo or crema, dusted with chilli powder (often Tajín) and crumbled cotija cheese, eaten from the cob. Oliver takes the same flavour logic (charred corn, creamy, spicy, citrus) but uses sriracha instead of chilli powder, skips the cheese, and slices the kernels off so the dressing coats every piece.

Slicing the corn off the cob also makes it easier to eat as a side on a plate alongside other food, rather than as a handheld snack. If you want the full elote experience, eat it off the cob with the dressing smeared on and some crumbled feta, which is the closest widely available substitute for cotija.

Can I use tinned or frozen corn?

You can, but you lose the charring. The whole point is that the cobs go directly on the barbecue and take on smoky, caramelised, slightly blackened patches that give the kernels depth before the dressing goes on. Tinned or frozen corn is already cooked and won’t char the same way.

If fresh corn isn’t available, drain tinned sweetcorn, pat it dry, and fry it hard in a dry pan or on a griddle until it browns and pops, which approximates the effect. The sriracha-lime dressing works on any corn, but charred is genuinely better here.

What can I serve it with?

Oliver suggests it as part of a bigger spread alongside grilled steak, his chicken and chorizo skewers or his paprika pulled pork from the same BBQ book. It’s a natural partner for anything smoky and meaty, where the sweet corn and sharp lime cut through rich, fatty protein.

On the site, it sits alongside his prawn skewers with ajoblanco or halloumi and strawberry skewers as part of a barbecue spread, and it’s the ideal quick side to put on while the main event grills, since it only needs 10 minutes on the grate.

How spicy is it?

Mildly so. One tablespoon of sriracha mixed into two tablespoons of mayo gives a warm, sweet-chilli kick rather than a fiery burn, since the mayo and lime mellow and distribute the heat. Sriracha is a relatively gentle chilli sauce, sweet and garlicky rather than aggressive.

If you want more heat, add an extra tablespoon of sriracha or a pinch of cayenne. If cooking for children, halve the sriracha and add extra lime. The dressing is mixed in a bowl before tossing, so you can taste and adjust before it goes near the corn.

Can I make it without a barbecue?

Yes. Griddle the whole cobs in a smoking-hot griddle pan, turning with tongs, for about 10 minutes until charred and tender. Or roast them at 220°C for 20 minutes. The charring is what gives the kernels their smoky sweetness, so any method that blackens the surface works.

You can also grill them under a kitchen grill, turning often, though they char less evenly than on a barbecue or griddle. Once charred, slice, dress and serve exactly as written. The dressing and assembly are all done off the grill.

Can I prep it ahead?

Grill the corn and slice the kernels in advance if you like, but don’t dress them until just before serving, since the mayo softens the charred edges and the lime loses its freshness over time. The dressing takes 30 seconds to mix, so there’s no real advantage to making it ahead.

For a barbecue gathering, grill the corn early in the session while the coals are getting established, slice and set the kernels aside, then dress them in the bowl while the main courses rest. It’s the kind of quick assembly job you can do between turning skewers.