The Great Pineapple Experiment

During the New Year’s Eve cleaning of the kitchen cabinet, I discovered that I had four good cans of pineapple packed in 100% pineapple juice taking up valuable space on the baking shelf. I had pineapple tidbits, pineapple chunks, and pineapple slices. The easiest way to liberate the real estate would be to transfer the cans to the refrigerator and eat the plain pineapple as the fruit component of my meal plan. But I really couldn’t fathom eating naked pineapple for several weeks. So I declared the Great Pineapple Experiment and started researching creative ways to use up the fruit.

The Research

My research process began in the family cookbook, which listed 25 different uses for pineapple in the index. The recipes ranged from cocktails like the Blue Lagoon and the Mai Tai to desserts like Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Chinese New Year Cream Puff Filling. I immediately eliminated all of the recipes that only used pineapple juice because that was just a by-product of the canned fruit.

One possibility was to follow the Mango Salsa recipe, substituting pineapple chunks or pineapple tidbits for the mango. Along those lines, there was also a recipe for Pineapple Chipotle Salsa, which was said to be great when served with grilled or broiled fish. Another possibility was to use the pineapple chunks in a Spinach Salad or a Tropical Green Salad. In the Salad section, there was also a recipe for a Warm Spinach Salad that stir-fried pineapple chunks and diced red pepper with chicken breast before serving on a bed of spinach. Carrot Salad, however, was not a possibility because it required crushed pineapple. Neither was Duck with Plum Sauce in Lettuce Wraps, for the same reason. I had completely forgotten that Sweet and Sour Chicken required a whole can of pineapple chunks, including the juice. The brother who cooks contributed a great crockpot recipe to the family cookbook for Maui Wowie Chicken; this used an entire can of pineapple tidbits. It also required a can of Spam but, since that was optional, I didn’t have to include it if I didn’t want to. Pineapple Fried Rice was a possibility since it required one drained can of pineapple chunks. Pineapple tidbits were a nontraditional addition to Grandma Vivi’s Spice Cake, which I always enjoy but haven’t made in forever. The Peach Coconut Muffins could be made with pineapple tidbits instead of canned peaches. Of course, there was the obvious choice of Pineapple Upside Down Cake to use up the pineapple rings. Since I had a special NordicWare cast aluminum pan that makes six small pineapple cakes, the Pineapple Upside Down Cake could be properly portioned to prevent bingeing. The Chinese New Year Cream Puff Filling was a no-go because it used dried pineapple instead of canned pineapple.

My research in the family cookbook led me to formulate two pineapple-centric menus that could use up the four cans of pineapple hiding in my horde cabinet.

Menu #1
• Pineapple Chipotle Salsa
• Broiled Salmon with Chipotle Orange Marinade
• Coriander White Rice
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Menu #2
• Sweet and Sour Chicken
• Pineapple Fried Rice
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake

The plan was to start by using up the one can of pineapple rings by making the Pineapple Upside Down Cake in the six cavity NordicWare pan over the weekend. Menu #1 would use up the one can of pineapple tidbits in the Pineapple Chipotle Salsa, which would be a nice cooling complement to the more intense Chipotle Orange Marinade on the broiled salmon. I would make enough Coriander White Rice to have four cups of cooked rice leftover for the Pineapple Fried Rice, which would use up one can of pineapple chunks in Menu #2. The second can of pineapple chunks would be used in the Sweet and Sour Chicken. Voila! Four cans of pineapple destroyed in about a week.

Menu #1

The plan to make the Pineapple Upside Down Cake over the weekend didn’t exactly work out the way it was supposed. In fact, I didn’t even motivate to make the Pineapple Upside Down Cake until the night after Menu #1 was first made. Of course, when I pulled out all four cans of pineapple for their beauty shot, I discovered that I had two cans of pineapple slices rather than two cans of pineapple chunks, so I would be slicing up one of those cans into chunks later on for Menu #2. Otherwise, I learned that it is okay to deviate from my notes in the family cookbook. I had written to use one-half tablespoon of melted butter in the NordicWare pan, but that really didn’t look like a lot, so I used one tablespoon instead. I thought that was going to be too much but, between the extra butter and very liberally spraying the cups with baking spray, I had no problem with the cakes sticking in the intricate pans for the first time ever. And they tasted great. A little more buttery and a little less sweet than I remember, but still very good. Since I was seeing my parents a day or two later, I made sure to save a few cakes in aluminum foil for them or else I would eat them all by myself (which would be bad!)

The Broiled Salmon with Orange Chipotle Marinade is one of my favorite simple suppers. All it requires is measuring the marinade ingredients into a sealable jar, shaking the jar thoroughly, pouring the marinade over the fish, and baking the fish. The only problem that I have is remembering for how long to bake the fish. I always guess 20 minutes at 350F: sometimes that overcooks the fish, sometimes that undercooks the fish, and every once in a while it perfectly cooks the fish. This time the fish was slightly overcooked but, since it was such good quality fish, I didn’t really notice.

I had meant to make Coriander White Rice, but I couldn’t find my ground coriander so I made just plain white rice. Of course, I have to check the instructions taped inside the family cookbook every time I make rice on my stove. This time, I used four cups of water, one cup of jasmine rice (to finish the bag), and one cup of regular long grain rice. I brought the water to a boil, stirred in the rice, covered the pot, lowered the heat as low as it would go, and walked away for 20 minutes. That freaks some people out that I don’t check and stir my rice, but I usually don’t have a problem with it sticking or burning to the bottom. This time the rice turned out perfectly.

I can’t remember the last time that I made the Pineapple Chipotle Salsa, so it was going to be an interesting experiment for me. The recipe is supposed to be done with crushed pineapple, but I used the can of pineapple tidbits instead. I drained the can into a measuring cup so that I could use the pineapple juice instead of water in the cake mix for the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I used cilantro paste from a tube rather than a quarter bunch of chopped cilantro leaves because I had the paste on hand, so that was less wasteful. The salsa was finished with lemon juice and pureed chipotles in adobo, just to give it a little heat.

Overall, the meal was pretty good. I served the Pineapple Chipotle Salsa on top of the Broiled Salmon with Orange Chipotle Marinade. That muted the spiciness of the marinade on the salmon. I actually enjoy the spiciness of the chipotle orange marinade a lot, so I probably should have served the salsa on the side. I served the white rice plain – no butter or salt or what have you – which was perfect. I also served a giant Sicilian style field greens salad with orange segments and pomegranate seeds. Of course, between the salmon, the salsa, and the rice, I was too full to even touch the salad. So I packed the salad away for a future meal.

In addition to the Sicilian style salad, there was ample salmon, salsa, and white rice leftover from Menu #1. The following day, I had half the remaining salmon, a few spoonfuls of salsa, and one-quarter cup of white rice with a nonalcoholic Lime Cordial for lunch. It was very good, especially since I had served the salsa alongside the salmon instead of on top of it. That allowed the chipotle flavor of the salmon marinade to really stand out. The meal was so good that I had the exact same thing for dinner in order to finish off the salmon.

Menu #2

Once I was done with the salmon, I decided to start on Menu #2 by making first turning the remaining white rice into Pineapple Fried Rice. Of course, that happened to be a day when I had been out and about running errands, so I was feeling a little worn out and took a few short cuts in the recipe. First, I completely skipped the diced onion. I had bought three onions during my last grocery store trip specifically so that I would have them for this recipe, but I just didn’t feel like peeling and dicing them. Next, I didn’t feel like mincing garlic, even though I had two heads of it. So I substituted about 1½ tablespoons of minced garlic from the jar in my refrigerator. After that, the recipe came together rather quickly. I mixed together the soy sauce and fish sauce in a shot glass and set that aside. I stir-fried the garlic in some olive oil - I didn’t have peanut oil – and then added the can of drained pineapple chunks. That got stir-fried until heated through, and then I added the rice. I stir-fried the rice until the large chunks were broken down and the pineapple was well distributed. Then I added the shot glass of sauce to the middle of the pan and worked at incorporating that. Once the sauce was incorporated and the rice was starting to brown, I pulled it off the heat and scraped it into a ceramic bowl to keep warm so that I could use the pan for the Sweet and Sour Chicken.

Unfortunately, I was not able to make the Sweet and Sour Chicken the same night as the Pineapple Fried Rice. The recipe required brown sugar, which I had used up recipe testing for a post on bourbon spiked recipes and then forgot to put it on my grocery list. So for dinner, I had one-half cup of Pineapple Fried Rice and a baked boneless chicken breast with my brother’s sweet bourbon sauce. The rice turned out okay. It wasn’t anything earth-shattering, but it was definitely more interesting than just plain white rice.

A few days later, I finally acquired the requisite box of brown sugar and could make the Sweet and Sour Chicken. I had already decided that instead of preparing the chicken in accordance with the recipe, I was going to use the two packages of Perdue Shortcuts pre-cooked pre-sliced chicken breast that I had in my refrigerator in order to minimize the mess. The sauce came together nicely, especially since I already had an open can of pineapple slices from the Pineapple Upside Down Cakes that I could easily drain off two ounces of pineapple juice. I sliced the leftover pineapple slices plus a new can of pineapple slices into rough chunks while the garlic was sautéing. Unfortunately, I forgot about chopping the green bell pepper ahead of time, so the garlic got the little extra browned. And I deliberately omitted the sliced white onion (again!) Once the green bell pepper was chopped, the dish came together very quickly. I added the pepper, then stir-fried a little, added the chunked pineapple, then stir-fried a little, added the chicken, then stir-fried a little, stirred the sauce to combine it again, added the sauce, and stir-fried until the sauce thickened. That was it! And it was delicious! I think the whole process of battering and frying cubes of chicken breast was why I haven’t done this recipe more often, because it was so good. I really had to exercise restraint in serving only a modest portion on my plate.

The Verdict

The Great Pineapple Experiment to cook with four cans of pineapple in the space of one week was a success. I didn’t necessarily eat all four cans of pineapple in the space of one week. I gave four of the Pineapple Upside Down Cakes to my parents, so we each had two small cakes. As of this post, I still may have some Pineapple Chipotle Salsa left in the refrigerator, which probably should be discarded. Both the salmon and the chicken were finished in fairly short order. The Pineapple Fried Rice took longer because it was a little lackluster. Maybe adding the onions per the recipe would have helped it. Or some diced water chestnuts for a little crunch?

The Recipes

Mom’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake
NordicWare in Minnesota makes a terrific cast aluminum pan with six small pineapple cakes. If you can find it, each small cake takes 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp packed brown sugar.

½-1 stick butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 20 oz can pineapple rings
1 sm jar maraschino cherries
1 box golden cake mix
ingredients to prepare cake mix

1. Preheat oven as directed by cake mix instructions.
2. Slice butter into bottom of 9x13 pan. Place pan in oven and melt butter.
3. Stir brown sugar into butter. Spread mixture to evenly coat bottom of pan.
4. Arrange pineapple rings and cherries on top of brown sugar mixture. It is okay to get pineapple juice into the brown sugar. Grease pan sides with cooking spray or butter.
5. Prepare cake mixture as directed. For extra flavor, substitute an equal amount of pineapple juice (drained from the pineapple rings) for the water called for in the instructions. Up to ½ cup spiced rum can also substitute for water or pineapple juice.
6. Pour the batter into prepared pan, taking care not to disturb arrangement.
7. Bake as directed on box of cake mix.
8. Cool the pan completely on wire rack to let air circulate underneath.
9. Once cooled, carefully turn out onto large platter.

♥ If there isn’t enough juice in the pineapple can to meet the requirements of the cake mix, make up the difference with some nice rum. Mount Gay works wonderfully!

Chipotle Orange Grilling Sauce
I like to have a squeeze bottle of this sauce in the fridge ready for use whenever.

⅓ cup olive oil
⅓ cup orange juice
1 tbsp chipotle puree
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cumin (or 1 tbsp cumin seed)

1. Whisk all ingredients together in non-metallic container. Add a combination of more orange juice and more honey if too spicy.
2. Heat grill and generously baste shrimp, scallops or other fish. Blacken on each side.

♥ Sauce also is perfect for a salmon fillet. Brush on salmon and either grill, broil in oven, or microwave.
♥ Sauce works best with sturdy vegetables such as portobello mushroom caps, plum tomato halves, red and green pepper quarters, Italian eggplant halves, and corn on the cob.

Pineapple Chipotle Salsa
Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe to accompany a seared shrimp cocktail, but a great change of pace from mango salsa when served with chips or grilled/broiled fish.

1 20oz can crushed pineapple
1 really ripe tomato, diced
¼ bunch cilantro leaves, minced well
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp chipotle puree

1. Drain pineapple as thoroughly as possible. If desired, reserve juice for another purpose.
2. Mix all other ingredients into pineapple in a non-reactive bowl.
3. Refrigerate to chill and blend flavors before serving.

Pineapple Fried Rice
This Mansfield recipe got a thorough trial and update for a P&W team dinner.

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 ½ tsp fish sauce
4 cloves garlic, smashed/minced
2 small onions, diced
1 large can pineapple chunks, drained
4 cups cooked white rice (day old is best)

1. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce and fish sauce. Set aside.
2. Heat a little peanut oil in wok on high heat. Saute garlic and onion until translucent.
3. Add pineapple and stir-fry to combine with garlic and onions.
4. Add reserved sauce and rice. Stir-fry until cooked through.

♥ Go ahead and make this a “garbage rice:” add all the leftover vegetables in your refrigerator to the pineapple. Diced red pepper, broccoli and scallions all work.
♥ Spice this up by mixing ~1 tsp Asian chili sauce (sriracha, salam oelek, etc) to the sauce.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Yet another restaurant favorite that is simple enough to make at home.

1 tbsp cornstarch
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp powdered ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking sherry
¼ cup wine vinegar
2-3 carrots, thinly sliced (optional)
1 can pineapple chunks, drained, juice reserved
1 lb boneless chicken breast
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp peanut oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1-2 green bell peppers, cubed

1. Combine the first six ingredients in a small bowl. Add ¼ cup pineapple juice to the sauce. Set aside.
2. Remove excess fat and veins from chicken and cut into cubes. Dip in egg, then coat in cornstarch
3. Heat oil in a wok on high heat. Stir-fry chicken until browned. Remove and drain on paper towels.
4. Add garlic and onion to hot oil from chicken. Stir fry until translucent
5. Add carrots, bell pepper and 2 tbsp pineapple juice. Stir and scrape the wok until deglazed. This should be about 2 minutes.
6. Add pineapple and chicken. Stir until combined with other vegetables
7. Stir sauce. Pour down sides of wok while stirring the contents of the wok
8. Continue to stir until the sauce coats the vegetables and meat and thickens This should be about 2 more minutes.