Who’da’thought that grilling dessert could be so tasty. This recipe really had an interesting side effect and that could have been attributed to all the smoke that billowed from the egg as the banana skins grilled. Funny enough, it smelled a bit like having Cheech and Chong bonging up in the back garden! The end result was a really tasty way to cook bananas BUT a smokey flavour that balanced out the sweetness of the brown sugar, coconut and cognac. Strange but gooooooood!
So here’s the secret as done last night:
Ingredients:
½ Cup Butter (room temp; not melted)
¾ Cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
½ Cup Walnuts finely chopped
¾ Cup Coconut (flaked)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 TBS of Remy Martin VSOP Cognac (sorry Dad, I only use top shelf for desserts!) Using a bit more than the original recipe but the flavour of a good cognac cannot be beaten!
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 qt Vanilla Ice cream
4 Bananas, large and Yellow, with a little green on skins
Preparation Directions:
Stir together butter, brown sugar, walnuts, coconut, vanilla, cognac, and cinnamon in medium mixing bowl until well combined.
Cut stem ends off bananas. Carefully cut bananas into even halves lengthwise. Do not peel them
Place cut bananas on baking sheet, skin side down.
Cooking Directions:
Spread topping on banana halves, allowing about 2 Tablespoons per banana half.
When bananas have been topped and Egg is at 350 F, place halves on grid, skin side down, leaving ½ inch space around each.
Close lid. Top vent should be quarter way open. Bottom vent open about ¼ to ½ inch. Temp is forgiving with this recipe but should keep a range between the 325-350. Cook 17-20 minutes. Don’t worry about the smoke….and there will be a lot of smoke with a fairly “interesting” aroma.
Finished bananas will pull slightly away from sides of skins and coconut will be slightly crispy. Skins will be dark brown. Do not let coconut blacken. A little charring around edges is okay.
Remove bananas with long spatula – if you use tongs you’ll break the bananas so be careful here.
Allowing 2 halves per serving, place on plate and top with scoop of honey vanilla ice cream from the Daily Scoop in Holland Village
Special Instructions:
Before spreading topping mixture, if it seems loose, add more coconut
Use firm bananas for best results
Banana halves closest to edge of grid will cook a little faster
Nuts must be finely chopped to spread properly
So with the photos below, I clearly need to work on my plating & presentation. When I looked at the photos this morning I simply laughed. Yes, it looks like someone took a big poo on our grill but let me assure you, these bananas were extremely tasty and easy to make. The topping mixture was absolutely insane with a gorgeous blend of coconut, walnut, brown sugar, butter and cognac – you picked up all these flavours coupled with a smokey aftertaste that was weird at first but completely unique!
A great dessert – play with the portioning and presentation! I’ll do this one again one of these days!
R
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