Dark 'N' Stormy Grilled Pineapple

               

The inspiration for this dish came from the Bermudan drink, the Dark 'N' Stormy.  The ingredients for the drink consist mainly of Black Seal Rum, ginger beer, and lime.  Putting our own twist on a classic, we came up with the Dark 'N' Stormy Grilled Pineapple.  This is a very versatile dish.  We have served it as a side dish with grilled shrimp, chicken, steak, ham, and pork.  Or you can serve it as a delicious and simple dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. No matter which way you choose, your dish will be winner with this recipe.

Dark 'N' Stormy Grilled Pineapple

Ingredients

1 fresh Pineapple 

3/4-1 cup dark rum (we use Myer's dark rum)

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 TBSP fresh ginger (peeled and grated)

1/4 tsp black pepper

zest from 1 small lime

**Kitchen Tip:  When peeling the ginger, the best thing to use is a spoon.  Just take the end of the spoon and run it down the ginger and the outside skin should peel off quick and easy.

**Ingredient Note:  If you do not have a ginger grater you can finely chop the ginger or cut the ginger into thing slices instead.

1.  Cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple so the pineapple lays flat.  Next cut off the rind starting from the top and working your way towards the bottom making sure to cut deep enough so you cut behind the "eyes" (dark brown spots) of the pineapple.  Turn the pineapple on its side and cut the pineapple into rings about 1/2 inch thick.  Next take each ring and cut out the center "core" of the pineapple.  

2.  In a bowl mix rum, sugar, grated ginger, black pepper, and lime zest.  

3.  In a pyrex dish or bowl lay down the pineapple rings.  Pour rum mixture over the pineapple.  Let the pineapple marinate in the mixture about 15-30 minutes, turning occasionally.

4.  Pre-heat your grill to medium-high setting.  What we like to do instead of putting the pineapple directly on the grill, we use a grill grate to start them on.  When you are ready to grill turn the heat down to medium and lay your pineapple on your grill grate or directly on the grill.  Now cooking time for these is subjective, usually around 15-20 minutes.  As the pineapple cook you want to turn them about every 5 minutes and if you like you can use the left over marinate and baste the pineapple as they cook.  Your goal is to get an even caramelization on both sides, so move them around a bit to make sure this happens.  If you are cooking using a grill grate and you want those nice grill marks, for the last 5 minutes put the pineapple directly on the grill.  

5.  As stated above, this dish makes a great side to any grilled meal.  But if you would like to use it as a dessert, and it's amazing as a dessert, just top with a dollop of vanilla ice cream (you can even sprinkle some toasted coconut on top to bring it up a notch), or if you want to forego the ice cream add a dollop of whipped cream.

Yields about 5-7 servings