Serves 6

Smoked Pineapple ‘Beer Can’ Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Cooking a whole chicken in a smoker is the best way to guarantee flavourful and moist meat. Similar to the famous beer can chicken, we use a pineapple!

Ingredients

For the chicken

1 Dole  Tropical Gold Pineapple

1 Waitoa free range chicken,  Free range fresh whole chicken

Rum and Que - Hazy IPA Rub

 

For the salsa

Remaining flesh from Dole pineapple, finely diced

1 telegraph cucumber, diced

½ red onion, diced

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning paste

Lime

Pit Barrel Cooker

Handee Paper towels

Method

  1. Place charcoal into the Pit Barrel and light.
  2.  
  3. Install a deflector plate and bring the Pit Barrel up to temperature (150-175°C).
  4.  
  5. Meanwhile, cut the head of the pineapple and peel ¾ of the fruit leaving the base section of the pineapple intact. Working around the core, remove the flesh all the way down to the base and set aside for the salsa. You should be left with an unpeeled base and an intact core still attached.
  6.  
  7. Rinse the chicken inside out under running water and pat dry with a paper towel. Coat with rub and insert the pineapple core inside the chicken cavity so the chicken sits upright on the pineapple base.
  8.  
  9. Place chicken in the Pit Barrel, install your Fireboard probes and close the lid. Cook until you reach an internal temperature of 75°C in the thighs (between 1.5 - 2 hours).
  10.  
  11. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the salsa. Place all salsa ingredients in a bowl and toss until well combined. Refrigerate until serving.
  12.  
  13. Once the bird is cooked, remove from the Pit Barrel, apply warm meat juice to the entire chicken and place back into the Pit Barrel for a further 5 minutes for the sauce to tack up.
  14.  
  15. Remove, carve and serve warm with your fresh salsa!
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