Simple Mango Habanero Marinade

Have I ever mentioned that we sometimes think Jack doesn’t have any taste buds? Or at least ones that indicate that something is spicy. Because this kid can eat something spicy and not bat an eye.

Back in December, we went to Mountain West Burrito in Provo. They had a super spicy salsa, full of habanero peppers. Forrest and I poured it all over the burrito we got (reminder: don’t pour a sauce on top of your food without knowing what it is) and we both could hardly eat it. Jack reached over and put some in his mouth before I could stop him. His reaction? “More? More?”

Here he is after that experience. The picture doesn’t do justice to how silly he looked. His lips were bright red, including the area around his lips. Had I not seen him take the salsa, I would have had no idea until I looked at his lips that he had eaten something spicy. And that’s how it has been with any spicy food he eats.

The rest of us, however, can’t handle the heat quite as well, but Forrest and I do like a little spice to our food. So the other day when I made this yummy coconut shrimp, Forrest and I decided we should make some steak as well, since shrimp doesn’t usually fill us up. I wanted to make a marinade, and for some reason, I really liked the sound of a mango habanero marinade. I’d never had this before, but it sounded delicious.

And it was! It took only a few minutes to make, 45 minutes to marinade the steak, and it created the perfect addition to our meal. We also made up a mango rice dish, but that’s a recipe for another time.

Obviously, the longer you can let your meat marinate, the better. But it sure was tasty after just 45 minutes. We used chopped steak and cooked it on the stove top, but I’m sure this would be a delicious marinade for any meat! It had a nice heat to it, but it wasn’t overwhelming, and it balanced nicely with the flavor of the mango. In the recipe, I said to use 1/2 cup brown sugar, but I ended up adding 1/4 cup more in the end to make it a little less spicy. It’s easier to make it less spicy in my opinon!

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Simple Mango Habanero Marinade

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Ingredients

• 1 habanero pepper, chopped finely
• 1 mango, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 clove garlic

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it is liquid. Taste and make sure it's desired spiciness -- if it is too spicy, add in 1/4 cup more brown sugar.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use. It gives meat a great flavor after about 45 minutes, but the longer the meat being used can be marinated, the better!