IN THE KITCHEN | grilling with st.

john

68 a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i
Grillin’ and Chillin’ With
Robert St. John
It all started with an Easy Bake Oven for this
successful Hattiesburg restaurateur
and cookbook author
 W
TEXT BY LYNNE JETER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEY DELEO
With a grilling cookbook fresh off the presses, a celebrated
There’s nothing preten-
tious about St. John.
He’s a family guy who
cooks up winning
recipes as an A-list
grillmeister, yet he just
might prefer to toss
wieners and burgers on
a 12-year-old rusty grill
he refuses to discard.
Not bad for the man
whose principal once
said he would “never
amount to anything.”
70 a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i
weekly newspaper column, and a successful restaurant line, Robert St. John is
smoking hot.
This summer, the Hattiesburg native is busy promoting “New South
Grilling: Fresh and Exciting Recipes from the Third Coast,” along with his
specialty seasonings and growing collection of custom products. His Bloody
Mary mix and rimming blend got a shout-out in 2008 from Oprah Winfrey’s
O At Home magazine.
Perhaps because his fortune is hard-earned, there’s nothing pretentious
about St. John. He’s a family guy who cooks up winning recipes as an A-list
grillmeister, yet he just might prefer to toss wieners and burgers on a 12-
year-old rusty grill he refuses to discard.
Not bad for the man whose principal once said he would “never amount
to anything.”
“The jury’s still out,” said St. John, with a hearty laugh that has become
his signature Facebook expression. An open book by nature, St. John’s
friends know he must be “wed or dead” to put on a tie, and that he can eat a
lot in one sitting, grits excluded.
The younger of two sons born to Larry and Dinny St. John, he grew up
watching Batman, Captain Kangaroo and The Three Stooges. He rocked with
The Beatles and Herman’s Hermits and initiated his kitchen skills with an
Easy Bake Oven. But when he was six, and learning how to ride a Schwinn
Stingray, St. John’s world was turned upside down. His father died. By the
time St. John entered the second grade, he was in a different house and a
new school.
“My mom never remarried, so I was always the kid without a dad,” said
St. John. “But I didn’t know the difference because I was so young when he
died. It’s all I knew. It didn’t do any good to walk around feeling sorry for
myself.”
He found comfort in routine: church every Sunday, lunch at his grand-
mother’s, backyard football, listening to the Rolling Stones, and fishing on
the Gulf Coast with his grandfather.
Turbulence hit during his teenage years. He “got wild,” he admitted,
bought his first car from earnings as a radio station DJ, listened to Led
Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, “stepped up the wild behavior” and “went crazy”
after high school. During a dark streak, his grandfather died, he totaled his
first car, was evicted from a trailer park, and got fired from a few ill-fitting
jobs.
“I flunked out of college after a couple of years and took a job managing a
deli,” St. John said. “It was my first restaurant job. I waited tables at another
restaurant at night. At 19 years old, I fell in love with the restaurant busi-
ness and decided that I wanted to open my own restaurant one day. Seven
years later, I opened the Purple Parrot Cafe.”
 Between heeding his calling and opening the Parrot in 1987,
which includes the Mahogany Bar (The Hog), and Crescent City
Grill within New Orleans-flavored walls, St. John relocated to
Omaha, Neb., then to Jackson, and finally back to Hattiesburg,
where he took 21 hours per semester at the University of Southern
Mississippi while also working two jobs waiting tables. A short-
lived marriage led to a stint in Florida. Then he met Jill, his true
love and soul mate. After they married, he focused on entrepre-
neurial interests.
“I was attracted to owning my own business because I would
have some degree of autonomy and I could wear whatever I want-
ed to work,” he said. “I work in shorts and T-shirts through the
summer, and jeans in the winter. Comfort is a big thing with me.”
While on the learning curve of the restaurant business, St. John
opened and sold a bar in Jackson, “made a risky foray into the
catering business and lost a lot of money,” he said, opened a live
music club and “assumed that I had life figured out.” Then he
closed the club and opened a fish house. In between business
deals, he returned to Southern Miss to finish up two lingering
classes required for an undergraduate degree and graduated in
2000.
St. John picked up a pen and discovered another calling. He
began writing a weekly food column infused with a good dose of
humor for the Hattiesburg American; it was soon syndicated
across the Southeast. He self-published his first cookbook, “A
Southern Palate,” which sold thousands of copies. Book deals fol-
lowed, including a rare three-book contract with Hyperion. Along
the way, he befriended artist Wyatt Waters, a frequent collabora-
tor.
“My editor in New York says that she likes my ‘voice,’” said St.
John, shaking his head in amazement. “I’d agree that I write with a
different ‘voice,’ but doesn’t everyone? It’s the only one I have. It’s
made up of all of my experiences from the time I was a kid until
now. Everyone draws from different experiences.”
Parenting and traveling are among those experiences. With
daughter Holleman about to hit puberty, son Harrison in elemen-
tary school, and two dogs (Atticus and Bear) in tow, St. John often
hits the road with his family. “They’re at the age where they’d
rather be with their mom and me than with their friends,” he said.
“That’s not going to last much longer, so I’m enjoying every
moment and soaking it all in.”
For now, he and Jill are adding destinations to their travel wish
list for the time their children are in college, when he also plans to
huddle over the computer to hash out more fiction. Perhaps by
then, he’ll have life all figured out, an elusive goal he’s “wonder-
ing if I ever will” meet.

WHOLE GRILLED TENDERLOIN
WITH CHIVE-TARRAGON
MAYONNAISE
Center-cut beef tenderloin, 3 1/2-4 pounds
1 1/2 tablespoon Steak Seasoning
2 tablespoons freshly cracked black
pepper
1 recipe Chive-Tarragon Mayonnaise
Coat the surface of the tenderloin with the Steak
Seasoning and cracked black pepper. Allow sea-
soned tenderloin to sit at room temperature 1
hour before grilling.
Sear tenderloin over medium direct heat until it is
well marked, about 15 minutes, turning one quar-
ter of a turn every 4-5 minutes. Continue cooking
over medium indirect heat until desired doneness
is reached, 15-20 minutes for medium rare.
Remove from the grill and allow tenderloin to rest
for 6-7 minutes before slicing.
Slice the tenderloin into 1/2 inch-thick slices and
serve with Chive-Tarragon Mayonnaise. Makes 10-
12 portions.
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CHIVE-TARRAGON
MAYONNAISE
1/2 cup red wine v inegar
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
3 tablespoons dried tarragon
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups canola oil
Warm water as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
Place vinegar, wine, orange juice, shallots, garlic
and tarragon in a small sauce pan. Simmer over
medium heat until mixture has reduced by 75 per-
cent. Remove from the heat and cool.
Place the egg yolks, mustard and salt in a stain-
less steel mixing bowl. Beat with a wire whisk for
2-3 minutes. Add in half of the tarragon reduction
and slowly begin drizzling in the oil, constantly
whipping the mixture. As the mayonnaise begins
to thicken, add the remaining tarragon reduction,
and continue to whisk in the oil. If the mixture
becomes too thick, add 1-2 teaspoons of warm
water.
Add pepper and chives, and store refrigerated
until needed. Makes 2 cups.
STEAK SEASONING
1/2 cup Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
3/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup lemon pepper seasoning
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Store in
an airtight container. Makes 1 1/3 cups.
CREOLE SEASONING
1/2 cup Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 cup cider v inegar
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry thyme Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a 3-quart Dutch oven, heat the bacon fat over
Combine all ingredients. Makes 1 cup. low heat. Add the dehydrated onions and garlic
and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the remaining
ingredients and place the sauce in the oven. Bake
BBQ RIBS
for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
3 full racks of pork spareribs, 3-4 pounds each
Use to baste ribs during the last hour of cooking
2 cups white v inegar
or serve on the side. Makes 8-10 servings.
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning
1 recipe BBQ Sauce

Place the ribs in a large roasting pan or baking

dish and pour the vinegar over the ribs. Using your
hand, rub all of the ribs with the vinegar and
allow them to marinate for 1 hour. Drain the vine-
gar and dry each rack completely with paper tow-
els.

Combine the spices, sugars and Creole Seasoning

and coat the ribs completely with the mixture.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the grill. Cook the ribs over indirect low

heat for 2 1/2-3 hours or until they begin to pull
away from the tips of the bones and the entire
rack bends easily when held in the middle with a
pair of tongs.
Serve ribs dry with BBQ Sauce on the side. Makes
6-8 servings.

BBQ SAUCE
St. John’s “New South Grilling” is available in
2 tablespoons bacon fat
area bookstores and specialty shops. For addi-
2 tablespoons dehydrated onions
tional information, visit www.robertstjohn.com.
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups chicken stock
1 quart ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup balsamic v inegar

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