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When the McIlhenny family returned to their Avery Island plantation after the Civil War they found their home burned, their sugarcane fields destroyed, and life in Louisiana just about unbearable.

The Yankee troops it seemed had taken a vengeance on the old homestead and about the only thing that showed any sign of life were some volunteer pepper plants.

The surviving pepper plants were of the Tabasco variety and were hearty enough to survive the storm of war. Everywhere but in the old pepper patch, the recently scorched earth was offering nothing but briars and brambles.

After observing the only newfound life on the devastated plantation, Edmund McIlhenny addressed his forlorn family with words of classic optimism.

“If God gives you lemons,” McIlhenny is reported to have said, “Then you make lemon aid. If God in his wisdom has seen fit to give us peppers, then we’ll make the best of it and thank Colonel White.”

Well before the Civil War, Colonel Maunsell White of the nearby Deer Field Plantation planted chili pepper plants from the Mexican state of Tabasco. From his first harvest of the bright red peppers, Colonel White knew he had discovered a valuable cash crop. After several years of planting and harvesting the peppers, the Colonel was convinced the Tabascos — as he called them — had medicinal value.

To all his plantation visitors, the colonel would proclaim, “After working in the peppers, and with tolerant use of my Tabascos, my farm hands have never been healthier. Why, nary a one,” the Colonel added, “Ever gets sick!”

After a bumper crop of peppers in 1858, Colonel White decided to mash his Tabascos and make a red pepper sauce — one legend states that the recipe idea came from an African slave. In 1859, the first Louisiana hot pepper sauce was offered for sale and Colonel White was the proud papa of panache.

The following year, the colonel had more peppers than he knew how to handle and he gave some to the neighboring McIlhennys. The Colonels recipe was also handed over, and Edmund on his plantation, also began to grow Tabascos and make pepper sauce.

After the fall of New Orleans, the McIlhennys decided to weather the northern aggression and avoid union troops in Texas. After the war, and after God sent the pepper message, the McIlhennys soon had enough pepper pods to plant and grow a stronger pepper than before. Only the strongest pepper plants survived the Yankees scorched earth, and as a result, the new pepper crops were heartier and more prolific.

In the following years, the McIlhennys began to experiment. They not only mashed and strained the Tabasco peppers but after they added controlled amounts of vinegar and sea salt from Avery Island they began ageing the pepper sauce in white oak barrels.

Only three years after returning to a ruined plantation, the McIlhennys bottled nearly four hundred containers of their best hot pepper sauce. They used boiled perfume bottles in which to market their new product and were soon sending the little packages of pride to potential merchants and restaurants.

The McIlhennys’ pepper sauce soon became the rage, refill orders shot through roof, and to attempt to hold down the overwhelming and enthusiastic demands, the Avery Island pepper sauce was priced at $1 a bottle. Even with the extravagant price, the orders still poured in.

During 1870, McIlhenny was awarded a patent for “Tabasco” brand pepper sauce and two years later, opened a satellite office in England to cope with European demands for the spicy new product. After going international, corked bottles sealed with green wax were replaced with screw-on caps.

When Edmund McIlhenny died in 1890, his son John took over the business but was immediately faced with disaster. The very next year after his father’s death, the entire pepper crop was wiped out by a blight. Due to his father’s wisdom a vast storage of pepper mash was on reserve and enabled the new Tabasco leader to last until a new pepper crop would save the day. From that almost failing year and since 1892, Tabasco peppers have not only been grown in Louisiana but also in Honduras, and other countries in South America.

Tabasco today remains among the most popular hot pepper sauce in the world and is cherished by millions of loyal aficionados. Many recipes abound regarding Edmund McIlhenny’s favorite pepper sauce, but one spicy entree remains a local favorite.

Fiery Chicken Marco

This is another quick and easy recipe for when the phone rings and those unexpected northern visitors show up and are ready to be entertained.

“Oh, hi,” the voice will begin, “We sure are glad we caught you at home, we just came onto the island! We got one of those really good deals on airfare and really want to stop by for a quick visit!”

As we all know, this type of call happens often and unexpectedly, but only when Marco is about to explode and everyone is busy and just trying to relax. When this happens, try the Fiery Chicken Marco and show your northern friends or relatives the spicy side of life in the tropics.

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts with skin and bones

One medium sized bottle of Tabasco brand pepper sauce

One cucumber

One Bermuda onion

Serves 4

Wash Chicken breasts (this can also be done with wings), and season with salt and pepper. Into a large glass or metal bowl, add an entire medium sized bottle of Tabasco.

After grilling the chicken on both sides, until almost done, use tongs and dip the breasts (or wings) in the Tabasco and turn repeatedly until every part of the chicken is coated with the pepper sauce.

Turn the grill down to low and return the fiery-spiced chicken to the flames. Repeat the dipping and turning procedure until the chicken takes on the fiery color of the red Tabasco.

*Health note: chicken must be cooked completely before dipping in hot sauce.

Serve with thinly sliced cucumbers and onions sprinkled with balsamic vinegar (to counter the spicy hot chicken.) Potato salad also works well as an additional side dish but to keep with the fiery theme, sprinkle with red pepper!

Without the potato salad, this is a carb-smart quick and easy entrée, guaranteed to please those that like it hot!

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Tom Williams writing has been published in Amsco School Publications; he is a local sailboat Captain and Marriott associate for 28 years. His debut action adventure novel is now under contract and will be published by ArcheBooks in the upcoming year. Tom is available at capttom@marcoislandtoday.com