Spicy Grilled Whole Pineapple in a Bacon Weave
This grilled whole pineapple offers a perfect melding of spicy heat, sweet fruit and salty, smoky bacon for a unique side dish or addition to salads or desserts. Making a bacon weave is actually fairly simple and toothpicks may be used to tack it into place before grilling. Since the pineapple is not over a flame, the toothpicks do not need to be soaked beforehand.
Servings 6 -8 slices depending on the size of the pineapple
Calories 208kcal
Ingredients
- Small-medium Pineapple , ripe yet still firm
- 12 slices of thick Center Cut Bacon (with a few extra slices as back up)
- 3 tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
- Plastic wrap or waxed paper
- Heavy Foil to make a drip tray
- Wooden toothpicks
Instructions
- Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for INDIRECT grilling. Make a drip pan from a piece of heavy foil and place under the grate on the side which will have the pineapple. Heat the other side to 350 degrees.
- Make a straight cut at the top and bottom of the pineapple removing the leaves and very bottom. Slice off the outer skin and core the pineapple (refer to photo above). Set aside.
- On top of a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper, create a bacon weave using 7 strips of bacon in one direction woven with 5 slices in the other. Place the 7 strips side by side horizontally. Fold every other strip back in half and place 1 strip across, vertically; fold back the folded strips over the vertical bacon. Repeat this pattern, alternating the strips folded back on both sides of the first strip of vertical bacon (for a photo tutorial. See the NOTES section for a tutorial.
- Once the mat of bacon is woven, place a second sheet of plastic wrap on top of the weave. Using a rolling pin roll over the weave to flatten bacon into a tight weave. Note: it should not be thin which can tear but meshed together.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the sugar and cayenne pepper and mix together.
- Remove the top layer of plastic wrap from the bacon weave. Holding the pineapple above the bacon run the sugar/cayenne mixture over the outside and inside of the pineapple (any excess can fall on the bacon).
- Position the pineapple on its side vertically on the mat of bacon (the longer side of the bacon mat will wrap around the pineapple). Using the plastic wrap/wax paper, wrap the right side of the bacon mat up and over the pineapple, then roll the pineapple to the left to cover. Weave the bacon together on the ends and secure with wooden toothpicks (if the strands are too long they can be trimmed slightly; due to pineapple size variability this may be necessary but do not cut them too short as they will shrink during grilling). Toothpicks may be used to secure the bacon mat on the vertical ends too.
- Clean and oil the heated grate where the pineapple will grill. Place the prepared pineapple on the grill and close the lid. Allow the pineapple to grill until the bacon is cooked about 30-40 minutes. Remove and place on a few paper towels to drain further. Dab any excess rendered fat from the bacon and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before cooling. Remove any toothpicks inserted to hold the bacon weave once it has rested.
- Slice the very ends of the bacon off and set aside (this can be used in serving or with another dish). Slice 1-inch thick slices and serve with some of the bacon weave.
Notes
How to make a Bacon Weave tutorial.
Nutrition
Calories: 208kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 295IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.3mg