Rum and Molasses Grilled Bananas

Bananas are grilled and glazed with a rum and molasses sauce offering a complexity of flavors—peppery, sweet, savory, hot and spicy.

Recipe Ingredients:

2/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup dark rum
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
6 small firm bananas, peeled
Freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Directions:

1. Light a hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the molasses, rum, soy sauce, brown sugar, hot pepper sauce and lime juice.
3. Arrange the bananas in a single layer in a shallow disposable aluminum pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle half of the molasses mixture over the bananas.
4. When the fire is hot, set the pan of bananas on the rack. Cover and grill, basting occasionally, for 10 minutes.
5. Add the remaining molasses mixture and continue to grill, basting occasionally, until the molasses mixture has thickened and the bananas are glazed and tender, another 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the grill and let cool briefly. Transfer the bananas to a plate, inverting them (the undersides will be more attractively browned than the tops). Season generously with pepper and serve hot or warm.

Makes 6 servings.