Hawaiian Luau in the Smoker!!

Okay, okay, I know I haven't posted in a long time.  It's just a case of life getting in the way (new house, new job, etc.) but I'm going to get better.  I promise.  Well, at least until the next time life gets in the way again...

But I digress!  I'm writing this particular recipe up because I don't think anyone should have to miss trying this at least once in their lives (well, except for vegetarian/vegans - this is pretty much a meatfest, so you're completely off the hook for reading this one).

A friend of mine tagged me on Facebook the other day with a picture of something that looked amazing - there wasn't much in the way of directions, but I can deal with that (I'm pretty good at making stuff up on the fly).

It was basically pork ribs, inside a hollowed out pineapple, wrapped in bacon - and then put on the smoker.

I know some folks are probably thinking that it doesn't sound so good - but pork and pineapple go REALLY well together (think of a Hawaiian luau).  If you brine the pork first and use a great rub (Mac Brothers Pork and Poultry Rub - hint, hint), it's even better!

As great as it sounded to me, I decided I also wanted to try basically the same thing with kielbasa inside instead of the ribs (I'd LOVE to try both together, but I'd have to find a MUCH bigger pineapple first!) - so of course, I made two so that I could try each one.

So, here it is.  If you decide to try it, please let me know what you think!

Pineapple, stuffed with kielbasa, wrapped in bacon, smoked and ready to eat!

Ingredients

• whole pineapple
• boneless pork country style ribs (I had two pounds - just over half of a pound fit inside the pineapple so I cooked the rest by themselves in the smoker

OR

•  kielbasa (I was able to fit about a half pound inside the pineapple)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil (enough to coat ribs, if you're using them - not necessary for kielbasa)
• Mac Brothers Pork and Poultry Rub (Regular or Spicy, depending upon preferences)*
• Brine (recipe below)
• 1/2 pound bacon

*NOTE: Any rub you like will work.  I don't list the amount of rub here simply because you're going to sprinkle the rub liberally on the pork and the outside of the pineapple. It won't take much at all if you're only using what you can fit inside the pineapple - a bit more if you're smoking extra ribs at the same time.

Brine**

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup salt

**NOTE: This recipe makes enough brine that you could actually do twice the number of ribs in this recipe.

Directions

1. If you're NOT using ribs and using only kielbasa, skip directly to number 8.
2. Mix together the brine ingredients, being certain that the salt has dissolved (I typically use half hot water and dissolve the salt in that, then add the other half as ice water)
3. Add the ribs to the brine
4. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours, up to overnight

   

   Ribs in the brine and kielbasa

5. Remove the ribs from the brine and pat dry, then place on a large pan
6. Pour olive oil on all sides of ribs and rub in to coat
7. Sprinkle rub liberally over the surface of ribs (both sides - see picture for an idea of how it should look); make certain you cover all surfaces of the ribs with the rub (remember to remove the bones!)

   

   Ribs, after using rub

8. Set the ribs aside
9. Cut the top and bottom off of the pineapple
10. Place the pineapple, bottom down, on the cutting board. Using a fairly thin knife (I use a meat slicer), carefully cut out and remove the core of the pineapple (if you have a pineapple corer, use that).  You will want to leave a whole big enough for the meat

    

    Top and bottom sliced from the pineapple and cored

11. Carefully cut off the rough sides of the pineapple, leaving the fruit exposed all around

    

    Rough sides of pineapple removed

12. Trim any necessary "bits" off of the sides and through the middle of the pineapple then set it back on it's bottom 
13. Take strips of the ribs (or kielbasa) and carefully poke them all the way through the hole so they are just barely coming out each side (when I did this with the ribs, the pineapple "broke". I took some cooking twine and simply tied it back together)

    

    The ribs stuffed inside pineapple (and tied together after it broke; I had
    better luck with the kielbasa - no pineapple breakage!

14. One at a time, wrap the pieces of bacon around the pineapple. In order to make it stay where I wanted it, I inserted toothpicks to hold it together at the end
15. Overlap the pieces of bacon and continue wrapping until the entire pineapple is covered
16. Generously sprinkle the outside of the bacon (the pineapple) with rub until the entire surface is coated

    

    Both pineapples with bacon wrapped around them and rub on them, ready to go in the smoker

17. Place the pineapple in the smoker at a temperature of about 225. (mine took almost six hours - until the internal temperature reached 170)

    

    The smoker is fired up and ready to go!  I use a thermometer with probes
    so I can monitor the temperature as it cooks

18. Carefully remove the pineapple from the smoker, let stand for about ten minutes, then slice and enjoy!

    

    The pineapple with the kielbasa stuffed in it

    

    The pineapple with the ribs stuffed in it