Porky-Stuffed Grilled Whole Pineapple Recipe

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Pork and pineapple aren't exactly a new pairing (tacos al pastor, anyone?), but a pork-stuffed pineapple certainly bridges into inventive territory. Recipe developer Patterson Watkins is no stranger to getting creative in the kitchen, and that's exactly what she does in her porky-stuffed grilled whole pineapple recipe, which really is as over-the-top as it sounds. As Watkins herself puts it, "This is one impressive stuffed pineapple! Over the top? Absolutely! Locked and loaded with flavor? Totally!"

Originally taking inspiration from the "swineapple" trend popular some years ago (which involved stuffing a pineapple with pulled pork and wrapping it in bacon before grilling the whole thing), Watkins wanted to take things even further. So, instead of pulled pork, this pineapple is stuffed with chorizo sausage, and the flavor of this robustly-seasoned sausage penetrates the pineapple from the inside out. "To pair with the chorizo-stuffed center, the exterior of the pineapple is coated with a seasoning blend of cumin, garlic, onion, and annatto (for a punchy pop of red)," Watkins explains. A homemade chipotle barbecue sauce ties the whole thing together, resulting in an impressive centerpiece that will wow at your next luau (or backyard barbecue). 

As for how you'd possibly dig in to such a dish, Watkins opted to make tacos with it, topping them off with cilantro, pickled red onion, and jalapeño. She notes that you could also make a tasty rice bowl with the pork-pineapple mixture, or just enjoy slices with classic barbecue sides.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

As you may have already guessed, you'll need a whole pineapple for this recipe, and one that's peeled and cored (we'll touch more on pineapple prepping tips later on). For the seasoning blend, you'll need salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, ground cumin, and ground annatto. To make the barbecue sauce, you'll use half of the seasoning blend along with ketchup, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Finally, you'll need ground chorizo sausage to stuff into the pineapple and bacon strips to wrap around the pineapple.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat or prep coals for a charcoal grill (400 F to 425 F).

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

To make the seasoning blend, place the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cumin, and annatto in a small bowl, stir to combine.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

To make the barbecue sauce, place the ketchup, chipotle peppers, brown sugar, honey, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce in a medium saucepan. Season the sauce with half of the seasoning blend (reserve the remaining seasoning blend for later use) and stir to combine.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Bring the barbecue sauce to a low simmer over medium-low heat. Once simmering, cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, remove from the heat, and set aside.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Sprinkle the pineapple with the remaining seasoning blend.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Stuff the cored center of the pineapple with the raw chorizo sausage.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Place the bacon slices on a sheet of wax paper and under-over weave into a tight square.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Place the stuffed and seasoned pineapple into the center of the bacon weave.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Wrap the pineapple in the bacon.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Secure the bacon to the pineapple using toothpicks.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Line an oven-proof skillet with aluminum foil.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Place the pineapple into the prepared pan, standing upright.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Place the pan into your preheated grill, close the lid, and cook for 20 minutes.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Carefully remove the pan from the grill and generously brush the pineapple with barbecue sauce. Return to the grill and cook for 20 minutes more or until the sausage center has reached 165 F.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Remove the pineapple from the grill, remove the toothpicks, slice, and serve. Serve with any remaining BBQ sauce on the side.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

If the thought of prepping a whole pineapple to be stuffed and grilled (while still managing to keep the pineapple itself intact) is stressing you out, fear not. Watkins has some helpful pineapple prep tips, and it all starts by chopping off the leafy top. "The easiest way I find to remove the peel is to stand the pineapple upright (on its base), and shave off the peel using a sharp chef's knife, starting at the top and working towards the base," Watkins advises. Just make sure to keep the bottom of the pineapple intact, which will help with both stability and to keep all of that chorizo stuffing, well, stuffed inside.

Once you've got the pineapple peeled, turn your attention to removing the core. Watkins recommends using either a paring or deboning knife to gently cut around the core, AKA the very center of the pineapple. You can then use a spoon to scoop the core out, and if it's being a bit stubborn, go back to that paring knife to get the job done. "Just be careful not to cut through the outer wall of the pineapple or pierce the bottom base," she warns. And, if you want to prep your pineapple up to a day in advance, just make sure to remove any juice that builds up in the cored center before proceeding with the recipe.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

If you don't happen to have a grill big enough to fit a whole pineapple or you simply don't feel like firing it up, you can easily translate this recipe into an oven-baked one. In fact, you don't have to make any changes to the actual preparation of the pineapple or any other components, but you do need to prep the oven accordingly and adjust the cooking time. Before you even preheat the oven, remove a shelf entirely, and transfer the remaining shelf to the lowest possible rung (and make sure that your pineapple will have plenty of clearance without brushing up on the broiler). 

Once the oven is whole pineapple-ready, go ahead and preheat it to 400 F. You can situate the pineapple exactly as you would if you were grilling — get it all wrapped up in bacon, toothpicks in, then stand it up in a foil-lined cast iron skillet. Bake the pineapple for 30 minutes before removing it from the oven, brushing with barbecue sauce, and returning to the oven for about 20 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 165 F, which would signify that the chorizo is fully cooked).