Step up your chicken game with this pineapple throne chicken recipe. Full of flavor, this tropical delight is one for the books. The tenderness of the chicken, juiciness from the pineapple and crunch from the salsa will have you dreaming of a beach vacation all day long.
How to grill the perfect pineapple throne chicken.
Have you heard of beer can chicken? Well, this recipe is similar but you grill a whole chicken on a pineapple core. The sweetness and juiciness from the fruit will penetrate into the bird while it cooks over the warm charcoal.
To get started, chop off the leafy top. Next, slice around the bottom of the pineapple to mark the base. Finally, peel off the rind and cut off the top portion of the fruit just leaving the core in the middle. Leave the cut off pineapple for a homemade salsa.
Take the whole chicken, season with your choice of sweet BBQ rub and set it on the pineapple core.
Preheat the grill to 375 degrees and set for indirect heat. Place the chicken onto the grill and cook from about 1 hour or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees. While that’s grillin, time to get started on the salsa.
Best homemade pineapple salsa.
It would be a shame to waste all that cut off pineapple, so instead, why not make a homemade salsa. This will add more flavor and crunch to the recipe.
Start with dicing up the left over pineapple, red bell pepper, jalapeno, red onion and cilantro. Add salt and freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix the ingredients together and set aside.
How to make Huli Huli sauce.
Last but not least, this Huli Huli sauce will bring this pineapple throne chicken recipe together. It is a traditional Hawaiian sweet and spice sauce that I used as a glaze at the end of the cook.
In a saucepan, add soy sauce, ketchup, pineapple juice, mirin, grated ginger, grated garlic, light brown sugar and chili paste. Mix the ingredients together over a low simmer and cook until the sauce thickens.
Once the chicken reaches an internal temp of 140 degrees, glaze the entire bird with the Huli Huli sauce. Let it finish cooking, then rest for 10 minutes and enjoy!
Printer friendly recipe and video below:
Pineapple Throne Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Whole chicken
- 4 tbsp Sweet BBQ rub
- 1 Pineapple
Salsa
- 1 cup Chopped leftover pineapple
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 1 Jalapeno
- 1/2 Red onion
- 1/2 cup Cilantro
- 1/2 tbsp Salt
- 2 Limes
Huli Huli Sauce
- 1/4 cup Soy sauce
- 1/3 cup Ketchup
- 1/2 cup Light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Pineapple juice
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 1 tbsp Chili paste
- 1 tbsp Freshly grated ginger
- 1 tbsp Fresh grated garlic
Instructions
- Chop off the leafy top. Next slice around the bottom of the pineapple to mark the base. Finally, peel off the rind and cut off the top portion of the fruit just leaving the core in the middle. Set aside the cut off pineapple for a homemade salsa.
- Season the whole chicken with sweet bbq rub and set it on the pineapple core.
- Preheat the grill to 375 degrees and set for indirect heat. Place the chicken onto the grill and cook from about 1 hour or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- For the homemade salsa, dice up the left over pineapple, red bell pepper, jalapeno, red onion and cilantro. Add salt and freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix the ingredients together and set aside.
- To make the Huli Huli sauce, in a saucepan, add soy sauce, ketchup, pineapple juice, mirin, grated ginger, grated garlic, light brown sugar and chili paste. Mix the ingredients together over a low simmer and cook until the sauce thickens.
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