GrillinFools
Pineapple wedges slathered in a sweet chili sauce and then slapped down onto a hot charcoal grill. The grilled pineapple wedges are charred on the outside to get that sweet and smoky flavor combo.
Mention the word marinade and the word most associated with it is meat. It doesn’t have to be that way. Recently I’ve departed (temporarily) from my carnivorous nature by marinating things other than meat such as Teriyaki Portobello Mushroom Burgers with a Wasabi Aioli and now fresh pineapple wedges. As a child I remember my delight with day old (or longer) fruit salad where the pineapple chunks had time to soak up juices from the other fruits. Indeed, that was the best part! Now I’ll create a grown up version on the grill with a little help from World Harbors Marinades.
Marinated and Grilled Pineapple Wedges Ingredients:
- One fresh pineapple
- Your favorite World Harbors Marinade (Teriyaki, Asian style Sweet Chili, and Jerk varieties were used here)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp chopped almonds
Slice the pineapple in half lengthwise as shown:
Place the cut sides down and carve each half into 3 wedges.
Slicing into quarters is fine too but this was a big pineapple and we had 3 flavors we wanted to sample.
Place the pineapple wedges into a glass dish and pour the selected marinade over the fruit. This is the Asian style Sweet Chili variety. Looks good enough to eat before grilling:
Do the same with the Teriyaki flavor and later the Jerk variety also:
I soaked the pineapple wedges for a couple hours turning halfway to coat both sides
Additionally, I would suggest marinating overnight for increased flavor:
Pineapple Wedges on the Grill
Set up the grill for 2 zone cooking with coals on one side and none on the other. Grill the wedges over direct heat keeping the leaves away from the hot coals:
A word of warning! Once the marinated pineapple wedges hit the grill DO NOT LEAVE. Do not depart seeking another adult beverage or for any other reason as the combined sugars in the pineapple and marinade may/will caramelize quickly and move into blackened status from which there is no return.
Look closely where the heated grill grates meet the pineapple.
Notice the browning bubbles?
Thus, be sure to check often.
Normally the rule is, “If you’re lookin’ you’re not cookin’,” but in this case it’s ok to peek to make sure the char doesn’t get out of control:
CHAR!
Grill till a char is achieved then move to the cool side of the grill to bake till the pineapple core is soft or a knife glides through it easily:
With this much sugar involved from both the marinade and those naturally occurring in the pineapple, there will be a lot blackening and still be delicious.
So don’t fear a ton of char.
Sample before throwing it away.
Some of the wedges got really black and were still amazing:
Grilled pineapple alone is great but the dual caramelization of natural sugars and World Harbors Marinades should take this to another level.
I’m curious about which flavor two Grillin’ Fools will prefer.
Arrange the Grilled Pineapple Wedges on a serving platter, dust with brown sugar, and sprinkle with chopped almonds:
Grilled Pineapple Wedges Summery
Flavor verdict? It really shouldn’t be a contest but our thoughts after sampling all three were: The Teriyaki was very tasty, the Sweet Chili crushed the flavor train, but the Jerk variety jacked it out of the park! We actually expected the exact opposite results. I was apprehensive about even tasting the Jerk Marinade, as I’m not the biggest fan of spicy foods (I mean I like the heat, but the heat doesn’t like me), but it turned out simply wonderful. Not a ton of heat at all. The marinated and grilled pineapple wedges are a great salad, appetizer, side dish, or dessert (try it with ice cream). Grilled Jerk pineapple served with ice cream will blow your mind!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.
Full disclosure, I partnered with World Harbors on this recipe
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Recipe Card:
Marinated and Grilled Pineapple Wedges
Ingredients
- 1 pineapple I chose a large one
- your favorite World Harbors Marinade Teriyaki, Asian style Sweet Chili, and Jerk varieties were selected for this episode
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp almonds chopped
Instructions
- Slice the pineapple in half lengthwise and then the half into thirds
- Place the pineapple wedges into large baking dishes and slather with whichever marinade you prefer
- Make sure there's plenty of marinade under the wedge (and it's not sticking to the glass)
- Flip the pineapple over a few times
- Place in the fridge for 2-12 hours
- Prepare the grill for two zone grilling with hot coals on one side and nothing on the other
- Place the marinated (and soon to be) grilled pineapple wedges over the hot coals, but the stem should be on the cool side of the grill
- Pay close attention to the browning or charring as they will go from tasty char to overly black in no time, although with this much sugar they will get pretty black and still be delicious
- Char on both sides and then place the wedges on their backs (rind side down) on the cool side of the grill to bake until they wedges are soft all the way through (about 20 minutes)
- Remove from the grill and top with brown sugar and chopped almonds
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