ChadVKealey
TVWBB Pro
I made some Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs for dinner the other night. Started with a couple BSCB, cut into about 1" pieces on Sunday night and dusted with some "Sweet Rub O' Mine". At the same time, I hacked up a pineapple into similar sized chunks and stored them in a separate container. Monday after work, I diced up a green pepper and a red onion, then skewered them all together (onion > chicken > pineapple > pepper > repeat). After grilling direct about 5 minutes per side, I brushed on some King's Hawaiian Original BBQ sauce (which, BTW, is quite good...not at sweet as I thought it would be). They came out pretty good:

However, the chicken had a decidedly mushy or maybe even grainy texture to it. I suspect that it was the proximity to the pineapple combined with the heat (heat pushes liquid out of pineapple, chicken absorbs it). I know (from Good Eats) that pineapple is high in bromelain, which is an enzyme that helps to break down meat fibers for digestion. In this case, the breakdown just happened while cooking rather than after eating. The whole chicken/pineapple/pepper/onion combo is still delicious (esp. with that sauce), but next time, I'll just keep the pineapple away from the protein on the kebab.

However, the chicken had a decidedly mushy or maybe even grainy texture to it. I suspect that it was the proximity to the pineapple combined with the heat (heat pushes liquid out of pineapple, chicken absorbs it). I know (from Good Eats) that pineapple is high in bromelain, which is an enzyme that helps to break down meat fibers for digestion. In this case, the breakdown just happened while cooking rather than after eating. The whole chicken/pineapple/pepper/onion combo is still delicious (esp. with that sauce), but next time, I'll just keep the pineapple away from the protein on the kebab.