It's on the smoke. A couple of thoughts:
1) That is a mighty large pineapple they used.
2) I used a pork loin instead of 'ribs'.
3) Had to halve the pineapple and core it while split open to make a big enough chamber for the loin.
We have two weber kettle grills (one LARGE and one small/average), the SnS and the Weber Smokey Mountain 18" smoker. We use both natural lump charcoal and KNB for smoking and measure our temps with a Maverick 733, thermopen and MK4. Favorite beer depends on what is cooking (alt answer is yes).
Finished product. Cooked between 250-300 for about 2.5 hours with some apple wood for smoke. Gave it about 5 minutes on direct heat at the end to crisp up the bacon a bit.
Thoughts:
1) Could have used a little more direct heat - I used thick-cut bacon and we prefer crispy bacon. This was certainly done, but not crispy. Could be that the moisture from the pineapple kept it from getting crisp.
2) Bacon and pineapple is a pretty nice combination - almost a buttery taste.
3) I cooked the tenderloin to 145* - future cook will probably take it closer to 155* - it was extremely moist and tender, almost too moist.
4) Overall - awesome presentation until you try to plate. Does not slice without coming apart. Ended up being mostly separated chunks of pineapple and bacon on the plate. Would need to be reassembled on the plate to really present well.
We have two weber kettle grills (one LARGE and one small/average), the SnS and the Weber Smokey Mountain 18" smoker. We use both natural lump charcoal and KNB for smoking and measure our temps with a Maverick 733, thermopen and MK4. Favorite beer depends on what is cooking (alt answer is yes).
It presents really well, but honestly... probably not. I'm not a huge pork loin fan really. This was a fun cook, but everyone at the table agreed it was pretty "meh" overall.
Jim
Made this today and agree with jholmgren's comments. Bacon falls apart. Outside of ribs are mushy due to contact with pineapple. Ribs did not get any flavor from pineapple. Falls apart when trying to cut. Make baby back or SLC ribs instead. Do core and smoke 3-4 pineapples in their base. The warm pineapple was great.
I just joined the site and was wondering why this came out so AWFUL! I threw it all away.
Here are photos pre cook. none taken after cook.
The meat turned to MUSH nearly sawdust-like, probably from the tenderizing enzyme in the pineapple I just read about in Meathead. I par-cooked the ribs in the smoker a few hours thinking it'd take forever to cook inside the pineapple and would not be getting any smoke. I sprinkled rub and some of that balsalmic-cherry glaze on the bacon weave. Looked pretty tasted what rhymes with pretty.
If I was to attempt again, I would separately cook pork butt, roast the pineapple (ideally with cinnamon and a rotisserie, not necessarily on a smoker) until slightly carmelized, then wrap in weave and smoke briefly then crank the heat until the bacon was crispy. Then I'd pack the hollowed core with shredded pork butt - not country style "ribs" for the presentation.
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