USVI-On-Line

Mimosas are easy to make. Chill your champagne and orange juice overnight, put your bathing suit on (optional), take enough wine glasses for the group and fill with ice, pour champagne until the foam hits the rim of the glass and add OJ until the color hits your preference (I like my lighter on the OJ). Drink next to your pool before the ice melts. Repeat!

Or, did you want that beer can chicken recipe?

Prep your chickens. This may sounds like too much information, but I don't make assumptions. This is a very easy recipe.
- Use one 3.5-4 pound chicken per 3-4 people. It's best if the chickens are about the same size.
- Remove any entrails and wash inside and out with cold water. Check the crop (where the neck used to be) for any bits.
- If chickens are partially frozen (frequent) defrost in an ice water bath. This is much faster and safer than defrosting on the counter in warm air.

Spice your chickens.
- Rub inside and out with Jerome's hot sauce. This will not make the chicken too spicy, just a nice herbal tang. Seriously, my non-spicy young daugthers eat this stuff up.
- Sprinkle inside and out with St. John Jerk from St. John Spice
- If you have the time, place the chickens in 1 gallon zip lock bags in the refrigerator to marinate
for 4-12 hours

Cook the chickens.
- Preheat the grill to medium, about 325F
- Take a beer can and drink half of the beer. Stuff some butter and herbs that you have in the beer can. Get inventive with hot sauce, wine, whatever
- Stand the chickens upright (drum sticks pointing down) mounted on top of the beer cans (stuck into the cavities, spaced so that they stand up well, preferably not touching. If you do not have room in the grill to standup the chickens then lay them backbone down and place the beer can in the cavity with the liquid hole oriented up
- Cook the chickens for 1.5 to 2 hours. Test doneness by poking the thick part of the thigh with something sharp - knive, toothpick, etc. If it runs clear then it is done. Alternatively, use a thermometer to check that the thigh is at 180F and the breast is at 160F.
- Wrap chickens in foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Presentation
- Strip the meat from the bones and pile high on platters
- You'll have dinner on the table about 30 minutes after pulling the chickens off the grill
- Serve with peas and rice, salad, left over Uncle Joes BBQ

Cheers, RickG

...is pick up some Cruz Bay Grill Rub at St. John Spice Co. (no, I don't work for them). It works great on all kinds of meat and fish. Our favorites are pork chops and swordfish steaks, but it also gets along with tuna, chicken and hambugers.

Jac makes a wonderful melon salsa to go with the "Swordfish ala Cruz Bay". No fixed recipe, but it's basically finely diced melon, onion and chile peppers (how hot depends on your tastes), doused with a bit of that Jamaican yellow pepper sauce. I think she usually throws in a dash of tequila or rum also. Good stuff.

RickG

You're right and very important is to get some herb mix into the beer can.

Also, I like to cut a lime in half and use that to plug the other end so that the steam kind of stays inside the bird. Also give a nice limey (sic) taste to the bird.

Use coals and some hickory. The only way to do a bird.

PS Should have added, that if you have a BBQ specialty store in your area, buy for a few bucks a device that holds the can of beer in place.

[quote="Bill W"]...is pick up some Cruz Bay Grill Rub at St. John Spice Co. (no, I don't work for them). quote]

Well, you all should!!
RickG, thanks for the beer can recipe. I've seen this before but we've never tried it. I'm bringing home a bottle of Jerome's tonight and searching out a can of beer...We only have bottles at our house.
This thread has been making me very hungry for several days now.
-Ruth

Ruth, and a couple of other thoughts

I like to rub the chicken with olive oil. Seems to make the skin crispier.

Also, I put the chicken in the middle of the grill with coals on each side, using an indirect method. Put a drip pan between the two piles of coals.

OK
YUM
I want a chicken now!

Jerome's is a pretty basic hot sauce from St. Thomas. It has a hot pepper and vinegar base with brown sugar, onions and garlic. One thing I like about it is that it has a good bit of thyme. But, any hot sauce will do. Miss Annas is pretty darn good too.

Ja, I get pretty anal about how I cook this at home. In a villa on St. John the choices are.... well, gas grill or oven.

Cheers, RickG

I love to cook on our boat so we eat most of our meals on the boat. We always have a happy hour beofre dinner. We like to grill out,usually chicken, salmon or filets. Then sometimes I cook a one pot meal of mostly vegetables over rice. Of course a pasta dish is always very simple to make. My favorite is breakfast which my husband always cooks. we start off with mimosas and then bacon and banana pancakes. When we are not in the mood to cook we head over to Skinny's or Island Blues. I never eat hot dogs at home but my first day on island I always have to have a dog at Skinny's. They make wonderful salads at Island Blues and have the best bushwhackers on the island. When I'm on island alone I usually cook in but always have breakfast out. I used to love going to the restaurant in Mongoose and sitting at the bar and having lunch but that is no longer available. Hope that the new place will be as inviting. Love the Deli Grotto for take out to the beach.

Seeing that I like to cook and have been doing it since I was 12 – Here’s my take on a meal in the Caribbean.

“An Island Brunch”
• Start out with a mixture of Orange and Kiwi Juice
• Cut pieces of fresh fruit (melon, kiwi, oranges)
• Scrambled Eggs in puff pastry shells covered in Hollandaise Sauce.
• Crab Soufflé with Curry Sauce.
• Chilled Jumbo Shrimp with spicy cocktail sauce.
• Champagne
• Island Coffee ( Coffee with a dash of Rum )

Served on the patio overlooking the Caribbean with steel pan music in the background.

George, you are invited over as well !!!

George - we'll be right over
Looking forward to seeing ou over "your" breakfast.
Luv ya
Pia