This recipe is a variation on spiced vodkas but with Mexican spices. It can be used in any drink recipe requiring tequila, or downed straight. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
Sauce Gombo
Gombo means okra in West Africa, and that vegetable is the primary thickening agent of this simple sauce from Ghana. The sauce can be served like a soup or poured over potatoes, plantains, or other starchy tubers.
Ingredients
1 pound fresh okra, sliced into rounds
1 cup water
1 teaspoon hot chile powder, such as cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat for for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the okra is tender. Serve it as is or puree it in a blended for a smoother sauce.
Jamaican Jerk Hog Wings
A Recipe From:
America’s Best BBQ:
100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants
by Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk
This recipe and other can be found in the Book Excerpt: America’s Best BBQ
Ingredients
Marinade
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup dark rum
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 bunch scallions, both white and green parts, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 habanero or Scotch bonnet chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced, or 2 chiles if you want it hotter
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 pork shanks
Fresh Fruit Salsa
1 cup diced watermelon
1 cup diced orange
1 cup diced pineapple
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, or more to taste
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1/4 cup light rum, or more to taste
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup dark rum
Instructions
Put all the marinade ingredients in a food processor and puree to make slightly chunky sauce. Rub the jerk paste all over the pork shanks, cover, and refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.
To make the fresh fruit salsa, combine all of the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
To prepare the wings, you can sauté or use the broiler. To sauté, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Place the shanks in the oil, always at a safe distance to avoid burns. Cook for 4 minutes in each side, or until the shanks lift from the pan without sticking and have reached an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan by adding the dark rum to the pan and stirring in in with the drippings. Pour the sauce over the shanks and serve.
To broil, place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil and broil until well browned on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Drizzle with a little rum and serve.
Jalapeño Hushpuppies
A Recipe From:
America’s Best BBQ:
100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants
by Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk
This recipe and other can be found in the Book Excerpt: America’s Best BBQ
Ingredients
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 or 2 jalapeño peppers
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons bacon grease
canola oil or lard, for deep frying
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, seasoned salt, cayenne, baking powder, and baking soda until combined. Add the scallions and jalapeno peppers and stir to combine.
Add the eggs, buttermilk, and bacon grease. Stir it all up until the flavors are thoroughly blended.
Heat the frying oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. (or use a deep pot and measure the oil temperature with a deep-frying thermometer). When it’s hot, use a tablespoon to drop your hushpuppies in. Allow them to brown on all sides. They will begin floating when done, after 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them.
Jalapeño Hushpuppies
A Recipe From:
America’s Best BBQ:
100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants
by Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk
This recipe and other can be found in the Book Excerpt: America’s Best BBQ
Ingredients
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 or 2 jalapeño peppers
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons bacon grease
canola oil or lard, for deep frying
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, seasoned salt, cayenne, baking powder, and baking soda until combined. Add the scallions and jalapeno peppers and stir to combine.
Add the eggs, buttermilk, and bacon grease. Stir it all up until the flavors are thoroughly blended.
Heat the frying oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. (or use a deep pot and measure the oil temperature with a deep-frying thermometer). When it’s hot, use a tablespoon to drop your hushpuppies in. Allow them to brown on all sides. They will begin floating when done, after 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them.