Pineapple honey salsa makes this warm weather meal irresistible
You’ll never guess what I asked for as a birthday present. Not a day at the spa, or dinner at a favorite restaurant.
What I asked for, and received, was a bee keeping suit. We’ve had hives for several years here but never had to tend to them. That all changed this spring when our beekeeper retired.
My neighbor, Erin, who is a knowledgeable beekeeper with her own hives, has been my go-to teacher. Last week we extracted honey from some of the frames and each got an amazing amount of sweet, healthful, raw honey.
I couldn’t resist drizzling some honey into a quick “salsa” made with diced fresh pineapple and mint. Downright tasty as a topping for spice rubbed grilled chicken legs. Greens from the garden and orzo pasta completed this warm weather meal.
The rub recipe is adapted from 101cookingfortwo.com. Dr. Dan Mikesell from the site uses coarse salt and pepper and granulated garlic so that the coating adheres to chicken without getting pasty. By the way, this rub is a good, all purpose seasoning.
Dr. Dan gave the heads up about flipping the chicken frequently as it grills, as well, for juicy chicken with a super crisp skin.
Garlic grilled chicken drumsticks with pineapple honey salsa
Ingredients
Chicken
Chicken drumsticks
Olive oil
Simple spice rub
Use less, or more, of any ingredient.
3/4 to 1 cup coarse salt
4 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
4 tablespoons granulated garlic
Instructions
Rub
Pour ingredients into a jar and shake.
Chicken
No specific number of legs required. Pat chicken dry.
Brush a bit of olive oil on both sides. This helps seasoning stick.
Sprinkle a nice coating of seasoning all over each drumstick. You may not need it all. Store leftover rub in pantry.
Grill it
We have a gas grill. If you use charcoal, check manufacturer’s directions for venting.
Preheat grill to about 450 degrees.
Place chicken legs on grill over direct heat. Close lid.
Turn each piece over every 5 minutes until internal temperature reaches 180-185. This took about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and tent with foil several minutes before serving.
Swap it out
Bone in, skin on chicken thighs can be subbed for legs. They make take a bit longer to cook.
Fresh pineapple salsa with mint and honey
No real recipe here. Just dice pineapple into very small pieces.
Drizzle honey to taste. Stir to coat.
Chop or julienne a palmful or so of fresh mint.
Stir into pineapple.
For a hit of citrus, squeeze in some lime or orange juice.
Don’t pitch pineapple core or peels!
Infuse the core in water, then chill for a refreshing drink.
I’ve used the peels as a base for an immunity boosting tea.
Let me know if you’d like the recipes.
Pineapple peels and cores are also used to make tepache, a popular fermented Mexican drink. I’m experimenting with a recipe and if it turns out well, you can be sure I’ll share it with you.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Pineapple honey salsa makes this warm weather meal irresistible
