Brown Sugar Grilled Pineapple Dessert Skewers
My kids ask for these every summer, and I started making them the night I needed a dessert in under an hour with nothing but a pineapple and a half-empty bag of brown sugar.
They take 15 minutes to put together and about 10 minutes on the grill, and the result tastes like something you planned much further in advance.
Brown Sugar Grilled Pineapple Dessert Skewers
Caramelized pineapple chunks glazed in brown sugar and butter, threaded on skewers and grilled until golden.
Ingredients
- 1 large fresh pineapple , peeled, cored, cut into 1.5-inch chunks
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar , packed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 8 wooden or metal skewers , wooden skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes if using
Instructions
Tips & Notes
- If your brown sugar glaze starts dripping and causing flare-ups, move the skewers to an indirect zone for 1 to 2 minutes until the flames die down.
- Serve over a scoop of vanilla ice cream so the heat from the pineapple melts it slightly at the edges.
- A fresh pineapple gives better texture than canned. Canned chunks hold too much water and steam instead of caramelize.
- Metal skewers conduct heat and cook the inside of each chunk slightly faster. Either works, but metal is easier.
Nutrition per serving · estimated
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Why Fresh Pineapple Is Worth the Extra 10 Minutes
Canned pineapple is packed in juice, and that extra moisture works against you on a hot grill. Instead of caramelizing, the sugar dissolves and the chunks steam, which gives you pale, soft fruit instead of the golden, slightly charred pieces you are after.
Cutting a fresh pineapple takes about 8 minutes once you have done it a couple of times. The payoff is chunks that hold their shape, develop real color, and taste like concentrated pineapple rather than syrup.
What to Serve These With
Vanilla ice cream is the obvious answer, and it is obvious because it works. The cold cream against the hot caramelized fruit is the whole point.
If you want something a little different, a dollop of full-fat Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey keeps it lighter and still gives you that contrast. Coconut whipped cream also works well and leans into the tropical flavor without doing too much.
