Grilled HOMEGROWN (sorta!) Pineapple

Posted by Tammy, August 30th, 2012 at 4:28 pm

Back in May, I was perusing my local Shaw’s when I happened upon this beauty:

Couldn’t resist buying this pineapple plant at Shaw’s!

How could I not resist buying a PINEAPPLE PLANT? It was just too cool not to own… so I scooped it up, put it in the backyard and there it sat all summer — growing slowly but surely. Just as I began to wonder how I would know when it was done, I noticed a week or two ago that this had happened and took it as a sure sign that the fruit was begging to be picked.

Guessed this meant it was ripe…

I let it go for about a week and then pulled… and just like “that”, it came off easily. It sat on my counter for about a week while I waited for the skin to turn yellow and for the fragrance to increase. My sis also gave me a good tip… pull one of the middle leaves. If they pull out, it’s ripe. I did and it did.

I finally cut it up last night and decided to throw it on the grill. I had purchases a packet of seasoning specifically made for pineapple. It was sweet and spicy and I figured it would bring out the flavors nicely.

I’d say I grilled on each side for about 4-5 minutes (on medium-high heat)… until grill lines appeared. It smelled AMAZING… but when I cut a piece off, HOLY SOUR, BATMAN! I didn’t taste it before I cooked it… a big no no on my part, as I’m assuming it was that tart beforehand as well.

Grilled Spiced Pineapple

All is not lost though… I drizzled it with some local organic honey and stuck it in the fridge. It might be too tart to eat straight up, but I’m not gonna waste it… I plan to use it in a pineapple salsa.

After poking around a bit, I think I’m going to try this Cooking Light version of Grilled Pineapple and Avocado Salsa. I think it would be amazing with scallops, shrimp or chicken. Hopefully the bit of honey I added to the fruit once it was cooked will be enough to sweeting up that sour pucker. If not, I’ll have to do a little editing of the recipe. I’m thinking brown sugar if all else fails…