Grilled bananas (with whisky, of course)

After a blinking delicious meal of whisky burgers, whisky marinated steaks and whisky caramelized bacon, you want a bit of dessert. What has this meal been lacking in so far, you ask yourself, and the answer comes to you at once – why, whisky, of course! There simply has not been enough whisky in the meal so far. Fear not, dear friend, for I have the recipe you’re after. A modern take on that most timeless of barbecue classics; the grilled banana!

This will serve two people, but scaling the ingredients up is really straight forward. Once again, some of the ingredients will need to be prepared a day before the dish is to be consumed!

You’ll need:

• 2 fairly ripe bananas
• 1oz of chocolate (dark or milk, it’s a matter of preference)
• 1oz of Whisky – unlike the previous recipes in this little barbecue series, I would not recommend using a smoky whisky for this! Instead, I would go for something fairly mild and fruity, why not Balblair? American bourbon such as Jim Beam would also works well.
• ½ vanilla bean
• ½ handful of raisins
• A sprinkling of cinnamon
• Tin foil

And how to do it:

On the day before

1. Put the raisins in a bowl, add the whisky and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon – be careful not to put too much in, a pinch will do just fine!
2. Place the vanilla bean on a chopping board and slice open lengthwise. Add to the bowl of raisins.
3. Gently combine the ingredients, and make sure there’s enough whisky to cover at least the base of the raisins.
4. Stir every two hours or so, or at least twice.

Just before cooking

1. Remove the vanilla bean.
2. Now, grate your chocolate and add it to the raisin mixture.
3. Cut the bananas open lengthways, along the inner side of the bend. Cut deep enough to split the banana inside as well, but don’t cut all the way through the bottom layer of peel.
4. Place each banana on a separate piece of tin foil – enough to cover the banana completely and seal.
5. Fill each of the two bananas with half of your raisin/chocolate mixture.
6. Seal the tinfoil around the bananas and place directly on the coals for around 5 minutes, depending on how hot they are. The bananas are done once the chocolate has melted and the flesh of the banana is soft and mushy.