Dear Reader-
When I saw this recipe in Gooseberry Patch’s Meals in Minutes I had one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments…
Confession Time… the first time I made this, I chose to use fresh pineapple… and well, that led to an interesting… um… texture change to the ham… and by “interesting” I mean gross.
That is when I asked google what the heck happened and google said “bromelain happened”…
Fresh pineapple contains bromelain and bromelain is a natural enzyme that… breaks down meat…
Which is a great meat tenderizer for tougher meat, but for my spiral ham… um… not so much.
The solution? Pre-heat the pineapple and it deactivates the bromelain.
The second time I made it, I threw the pineapple chunks in the microwave for 30 seconds and then grilled it and the ham was perfect.
Note: Canned pineapple shouldn’t have this problem.
Now we have had these several times since the first time… sometimes we baste them with the sauce, other times we just have them plain.
Regardless of how we serve them up, we love them!
Enjoy!
Ham & Pineapple Kabobs
Ingredients
- Ham cubes or slices
- Pineapple pre-heat if fresh
- Skewers
- 1/4 Cup Pineapple Juice pre-heat if fresh
- 2 T Soy Sauce
- 2 T Brown Sugar
- Ginger to taste
Instructions
- Place ham and pineapple on skewers.
- Mix juice with remaining ingredients.
- Marinate for 2 hours.
- Baste on the grill
- Grill until heated through
Cranberry Morning says
Oh yeah, that looks pretty amazing! Huge flavor bursts!!
Rebecca Raymond says
I’m sorry, I’m trying to be obtuse, but you say microwave the fresh pineapple before grilling. But you also say marinate for two hours. Should I microwave the pineapple, then place on skewers, then marinate for two hours? Thanks, sorry to be a pain!!
crisgoode says
I see how that could be a little confusing. Definitely microwave fresh pineapple before marinating on skewers… You are just deactivating the part that will break down the meat. If you use canned pineapple, there is no need to microwave.
Rebecca Raymond says
Thank you! I’m trying this tomorrow. My hubs is soo excited! Also, I meant (above) “I’m NOT trying to be obtuse”, sorry, my brain works faster than my typing! Thanks for the awesome idea! It’ll be a gorgeous weekend for grilling!
Cris says
I knew what you meant 😉 Have fun!
Michelle Tripp says
I just came upon this on Pinterest…I have made similar kebabs in the past, and used Canned pineapple (DelMonte)…and the gross texture thing still happened where the meat becomes like …. ummm, toothpastey (?). Sickening. Anyways, just thought I would share….I never googled it, but I am happy to know it wasn’t my BBQ “skills” that created my messy meat, it was just an acid in the pineapple….I will try the heating up of the pineapple this time!!!
Cathy S says
Yummy!