Swineapple

  • Level:Intermediate
  • Total: 1 hr 30 min
  • Active: 30 min

  • Yield:6 servings

Ingredients

1 large ripe whole pineapple

1 pound BBQ pork ribs, meat removed from the bones

12 slices thick-cut bacon (see Cook’s Note)

Directions

Special equipment:
  1. Prepare a grill for medium indirect heat: For a gas grill (with 3 or more burners), turn all the burners to medium-high heat; after about 15 minutes turn off one of the middle burners and turn the remaining burners down to medium. For a charcoal grill, bank one chimney starter-full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer’s guide for best results.)
  2. Slice off the top and bottom of the pineapple with a sharp knife and set the pieces aside. Remove the peel from the pineapple, cutting it off in strips. Using a paring knife, carefully hollow out the pineapple to a 3/4-inch-thick shell.
  3. Stuff the pineapple with the ribs. Place the top and bottom pieces back on the pineapple and secure them in place with 4 long bamboo skewers.
  4. Place a large piece of parchment on your work surface. Arrange 6 slices bacon horizontally on the parchment. The edges of the slices should touch but not overlap. Working with the remaining 6 slices, weave the bacon in an over-under pattern by lifting alternating slices of the horizontal bacon and vertically placing a slice of bacon over or under as needed to create a woven lattice design. Wrap the bacon lattice around the pineapple and secure it in place with 8 long bamboo skewers. Trim the protruding skewer tips down to 1/2 inch lengths with kitchen shears.
  5. Put the swineapple on the grill over the drip pan with the bacon seam-side down. Cover the grill and cook until the bacon is crispy and golden brown and the meat is hot in the center, about 1 hour. Transfer to a cutting board. Remove the skewers and slice the pineapple into rings for serving.

Cook’s Note

If you are buying packaged bacon, the kind labeled thick cut work best. If you order your bacon custom-sliced at the deli counter, request 1/8-inch-thick strips. If the slices are too thick they will not give and stretch enough to wrap the pineapple.

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