Summer is here. And with it has come the most perfect weather with beautifully sunny skies. The kind that make you want to spend endless hours outside sipping cold drinks while enjoying delicious foods. But not just any food. Grilled food.
After all summer is for grilling, isn’t it?
For me, summer typically rhymes with endless mayi boukannen, lambi boukannen and grilled lobster on a beach. But last weekend, I decided to go a different route. I wanted to switch things up a bit. Images of grilled fruits were flooding my Pinterest account. I was tempted. It seemed as if, if I was not grilling fruits, then I might as well not be grilling at all. I had to give those fruity ideas a shot.
And that’s exactly what I did. I fired up the grill. And put some fruit slices on it, among other things. I must confess, I was dubious about grilling fruits. I did not understand the point of doing that. But the grilled pineapples on my feed were calling my name. I had no choice but to respond to their call, and include them in my first summer 2019 grilling adventures. I needed to get them on a grill. With some meat of course.
It is with that state of mind that I set out to prepare those grilled pineapple chicken kabobs last weekend.
That turned out to be the most scrumptious idea I could have ever had. I had chosen not to use any recipe. Instead, I would freestyle it and let my taste buds be my guide. I had previously prepared both a spicy orange rum glaze and a tamarind glaze. I, thus, had an idea how I should go about my pineapple chicken. Except that this time, I wanted more than just a glaze coating. I wanted my kabobs to be fully infused with the pineapple.
The pineapple chicken kabobs I am serving you today spent a few hours in a pineapple juice marinade. I seasoned them with ginger, lime juice, piment bouc, garlic, salt and pepper. About 30 minutes before grilling, I skewed them with pineapple and bell pepper slices. I coated them with my homemade pineapple glaze, as well. In doing so, I wanted to make sure that my chicken flavors would be the same both on the outside and on the inside.
I set my glazed kabobs on a charcoal grill and let them caramelize. I made sure to brush them from time to time with some additional glaze to ensure they wouldn’t dry out. I also popped a few glaze-coated pineapple slices next to them on the grill.
The result? Sweet, spicy and caramelized pineapple chicken kabobs and glazed pineapple slices that I am proud to share with you today.
Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
- 1 lb of chicken breast
- 1 can of pineapple slices
- Kabob skewers I used about 20 mini ones, with the longer ones you’ll probably need 10 or 12
For the marinade
- 8 oz pineapple juice
- 3 garlic heads chopped
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 small piment bouc chopped
- 3 lime juice
For the kabobs
- Pineapple Slices
- 1 bell pepper
For the glaze
- Pineapple juice from the can
- Marinade juice
- Fresh Grated Ginger
- 6 tbsp of Sugar
- Pepper to taste
- 2-3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp of cornstarch
Instructions
Marinating the chicken
- Prepare the marinade by mixing all the ingredients listed above
- Cut the chicken breast into thick chunks
- Pour the marinade over those chunks
- Let marinate for at least three hours
For the glaze
- In a pot, mix the sugar and cornstarch
- Dissolve with the pineapple juice
- Incorporate the remaining ingredients
- Bring to a boil
- Reduce the heat and simmer until your glaze thickens up
- Let cool
For the kabobs
- Alternate the marinated chicken with a piece of bell pepper and pineapple
- Pour some of the cooled glaze over the skewers
- Dip any leftover pineapple slices in the glaze
- Let rest for about 30 minutes making sure all sides are coated evenly
- Light up your grill
- Place the chicken skewers on the grill
- Cook evenly making sure to brush on more glaze as you go
- Let caramelize
- Once the chicken is halfway ready, add the pineapple slices
- Grill on both sides
- Enjoy!
