Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Joey's Pineapple Relish



You've heard of using pickle relish to top hamburgers and hot dogs, right? Why not try something a little different? Why not add a little tropical touch to your next BBQ? Serve this over grilled pork, ham, chicken, fish, burgers, hot dogs, anything at all! It's REALLY easy to make and it's the perfect unexpected something. It kind of has the same sort of dynamic as fried onions, only with a tropical note. Cool, huh? Yes, it's my own recipe and I hope you like it! Oh, and it goes GREAT with a nice smoky BBQ sauce.
Try it!


3 tbs butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
a splash of apple cider vinegar
2 tbs honey
Juice from 1/2 lemon or lime
big pinch Kosher salt
lots of freshly cracked black pepper 

Melt butter in a large skillet and add onions. Saute over medium heat until the onions are soft. Add remaining ingredients. Let it continue to saute for about 30 minutes, stirring often. The liquid will evaporate and the texture will become sort of soft and sticky. It's ready when the pineapple's bright yellow color becomes much deeper and almost golden. Serve warm or cold over grilled anything.

Tip:
You really want to let this saute slowly for a good half hour so that the sugars will caramelize.
Don't have honey? Use brown sugar instead!
You can easily substitute just about any favorite vinegar instead of the apple cider. Red or white wine, champagne, even just regular white vinegar would be fine. I wouldn't use balsamic vinegar, though. It has a much milder and much sweeter flavor. You want something with a little more punch.
 If you want to crank it up a little more, add a little diced jalapeno or other chili pepper.

No comments: