Recipes

BANANA FLAMBE

Preparation & Cooking Time:
Serves:

Ingredients

BANANA FLAMBE

Grilled dessert doesn’t need to be complicated, but it should be fun, which is why I love to grill banana flambe. Bananas are fantastic when they take on heat and even better when bathed in a buttery sugar bath. Then again, what isn’t? Using a Gourmet BBQ System griddle, this is a simple and sweet process with a spectacular presentation. It’s one of the few times you want to see flames above the grates and boy, is it worth it.

Banana Flambe

By Mike Lang

4 semi-ripe bananas (yellow with a little green)

½ cup           butter

½ cup           brown sugar

2 oz               rum

¼ t                cinnamon

2 T                lemon zest

Prepare the grill for direct medium-high heat (375-400 F) with the Gourmet BBQ System insert and Griddle.

Peel the bananas and slice in half, vertically.

Add the butter to the griddle, once melted, add in the brown sugar and stir. Once the mixture begins to bubble, add the bananas.

Grill for two minutes with the lid down, then flip the bananas over and grill for an additional two minutes. Be sure to keep the bananas covered in the butter mixture.

Prepare to flambe! This will happen quickly, so if you want to have an audience, which you will, be sure to summon them to the grill before you start.

Add the rum to the griddle.

Then, with a pair of tongs, raise one side of the griddle up.

The liquid rum doesn’t burn, but the vapor the rum puts off does. By elevating the griddle, the rum vapor is exposed to the direct heat of the grill and ignites. Once the rum vapor is lit, lower the griddle back down and watch the show. After a minute, the rum will burn off and the flame will extinguish.

Add the cinnamon and lemon zest to the griddle and stir.

Remove the griddle from the grill. Add the bananas to a bowl with any remaining butter mixture and serve with ice cream.