Aloha Grilled Pineapple Chicken

Labor Day weekend. The official end of summer. In Bay View, this means one last hurrah at the park, one last cookout, one last weekend of pretending winter isn't four months long. Dad organized the family cookout, as always. Same park, same grill, same cooler system. But this year something was different: Babcia didn't come. She said she was tired. She said the park was too far. It's six blocks, Babcia. "Six blocks is far when you're eighty-eight," she said. Mom drove to Babcia's house after the cookout and brought her a plate. She came back looking worried. "Mom didn't eat much," she said to Dad in the kitchen, thinking I wasn't listening. "She says she's fine but she's lost weight." Dad said, "Should we call the doctor?" Mom said, "I already did. Appointment is next week." I went to Babcia's that evening. She was in her chair, watching a Polish TV show she gets on some special channel, a blanket on her lap even though it was seventy-five degrees. I brought her a container of the pulled pork from the cookout. She ate a few bites and said, "Not bad for American food." Then she fell asleep in her chair while I did her dishes. I stood in her kitchen washing plates and looked around: the flour-dusted counter, the wooden spoons in the crock by the stove, the calendar from St. Josaphat pinned to the wall, the photo of Dziadek Stefan on the windowsill. This kitchen has been the center of my universe for twenty years. It smells like butter and onions and love. It's the most important room I've ever been in. I dried the dishes and put them away and kissed Babcia's forehead while she slept and drove home. In the Jeep, stopped at a red light on KK Avenue, I cried. Just for a minute. Just long enough. Then the light turned green and I drove. At the brewery: end-of-summer production wind-down. The rye saison is fermenting, the Fireside is conditioning. Fall is coming. Everything is changing.

The pulled pork was good — good enough that Babcia ate a few bites and gave it her version of a compliment — but standing in her kitchen that night, I kept thinking about next summer, about making something I could carry over to her in a container and have her actually finish. This Aloha Grilled Pineapple Chicken is what I’ve been coming back to: it’s the kind of food that travels well, tastes like a warm afternoon, and doesn’t ask much of the person eating it. It’s the dish I’m bringing to the next cookout — and the one after that, for as long as we’ve got them.

Prep Time: 15 min (plus 1 hr marinating) | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 1 hr 33 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4–6 pieces)
1/2 cup pineapple juice (from a can or fresh)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
4 rings fresh or canned pineapple (drained if canned)
2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish
Cooked white rice or Hawaiian rolls, for serving

Instructions

Make the marinade. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes until the sugar dissolves.
Marinate the chicken. Place chicken thighs in a zip-top bag or shallow dish. Pour about 3/4 of the marinade over the chicken, reserving the rest. Seal and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours. Keep the reserved marinade covered in the fridge.
Preheat the grill. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium-high heat (about 400°F). Lightly oil the grates.
Grill the chicken. Remove chicken from the marinade (discard used marinade) and grill for 6–8 minutes per side, until cooked through and internal temperature reaches 165°F. The edges should be slightly charred and caramelized.
Grill the pineapple. During the last 4–5 minutes of cooking, add pineapple rings to the grill alongside the chicken. Cook 2–3 minutes per side until grill marks form and the fruit is warmed through and slightly caramelized.
Glaze and rest. In the final minute of cooking, brush the reserved marinade over the chicken and let it caramelize briefly. Remove everything from the grill and let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.
Serve. Plate chicken with a grilled pineapple ring on top. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve over white rice or alongside Hawaiian rolls.

Nutrition (per serving)

Aloha Grilled Pineapple Chicken — One Last Cookout Before the Cold Comes