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1
Pull back the husks fully and strip away all silk. The ear should be clean and pale, with tightly packed, milky kernels — press a thumbnail into one; it should weep a thin, sweet juice. That freshness cannot be recovered once lost.
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2
For boiled corn: submerge the prepared ears in a large pot of unsalted boiling water. Cook until the kernels are just tender, 4–6 minutes. Do not salt the water; salt toughens the skins. The ears are done when a kernel pierced with a skewer offers no resistance and the raw starch smell has gone, replaced by a clean, sweet fragrance.
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3
For grilled corn: lay the silk-free ears directly over a hot grill. Turn them every 2–3 minutes. This is where the dish lives or dies — the kernels must take on patches of deep char and caramelised colour without drying out; the sugars must scorch, not simply warm. The corn is ready when the skin of each charred kernel blisters and the smoke coming off the grill turns from raw to sweet.
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4
While hot, rub each ear generously with butter, turning so it melts evenly into every row of kernels. Season with flaky salt. The butter should glisten and pool at the ends of the cob.
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5
For the elote finish: brush the buttered, salted ear with mayonnaise, coating the kernels in a thin, even layer. Roll in crumbled cotija, dust with chili powder, and finish with a squeeze of lime. The coating should cling without sliding; the salt of the cotija and the acid of the lime must both be perceptible on first taste.