Episode 107: One Good Turn
Brazilian Rotisserie Pineapple
You can certainly serve the fruit with meat, but it also makes a stunningly original dessert.
More Brazilian Barbecue Recipes:
Brazilian Rotisserie Pineapple
Recipe Notes
- Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
- 1 whole pineapple
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
For the whipped cream
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons cachaça (Brazilian cane spirits or white rum)
Recipe Steps
Step 1: Twist the crown (leaves) off the pineapple and carefully cut the rind off the fruit. Using a sharp knife, make a series of spiral cuts to remove the eyes.
Step 2: Place the sugar, cinnamon, and spices in a bowl and stir to mix.
Step 3: Set up your grill for spit-roasting and preheat it as hot as it will go.
Step 4: Thread the pineapple onto the spit crosswise—that is so the spit passes through the middle of the fruit and the ends will be closest to the fire. Working over a tray, brush the pineapple on all sides with coconut milk, then sprinkle the outside with the cinnamon sugar over the pineapple on all sides and on the end, crusting it as thickly and as evenly as possible.
Step 5: Spit-roast the pineapple until darkly browned on the outside, 5 to 8 minutes. Take the spit to the table and thinly slice the pineapple onto plates. To be strictly authentic, once the crust is carved, you’d re-sprinkle the fruit with more sugar and spit-roasted until darkly browned again, continuing until all the sugar and fruit are used up.
Step 6: If desired, serve the pineapple slices with whipped cream. In keeping with Brazil, you could flavor the whipped cream with cachaça (a Brazilian cane spirit) instead of rum.
Recipe Tips
Note: If you don’t have a rotisserie, you can cut the pineapple crosswise into ½ (one half) inch slices, dredge each cinnamon sugar, and brown them on the well-oiled grate of a screaming hot grill.
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Steven Raichlen’s Project Fire is a production of Maryland Public Television, Barbacoa, Inc., and Resolution Pictures. © 2018 Barbacoa, Inc.