Get ready for a mouthwatering culinary adventure with a sweet and savory twist. Imagine crispy bacon, candied ham, juicy pineapple that’s baked to perfection and finished with a decadent buttery maple bourbon glaze!
Taking Candied Foods Up a Notch
Living in Arizona the flavors of certain fruits are different than those back east. For example the pineapples are just so much more sweeter. I’m sure there’s some scientific explanation for this. All I know I’m so happy about it.
I’ve shared with you before Candied Sriracha Bacon Wrapped Pineapple and y’all go nuts over it every time I post it. However this one, this one I’m crushing on way more. I’m firing up the Yoder Smokers YS640 and adding in the Yoder Smokers Pizza oven for one recipe that’s sure to go viral this summer!
Why? Well:
- It contains both bacon AND ham (think either deli ham or leftover Easter ham)
- It’s basted in this buttery maple bourbon glaze that seriously I should really bottle and sell!
Grab Your Ingredients
This recipe doesn’t require anything out of the ordinary.
- Fresh Pineapple – cut into 1″ thick spears about 6-8″ long
- Meat – regular strips of bacon and deli or leftover Easter ham sliced thin
- Seasoning – smoked paprika, Chupacabra Ribnoxious
- Sweetener – real maple syrup, brown sugar
- Butter
- Bourbon
- Toothpicks – see Chef’s Tip
Chef’s Tip: Soaking Toothpicks
I’m sure most of you know this but maybe not everyone does. When you go to cook or grill using wooding toothpicks, you must soak them in water for at least 30 minutes prior to using them in your dish.
In this case, I soaked them, make the wrapped pineapple skewers and insert the prepared toothpicks. Then the dish immediately went into the Yoder Smokers Pizza Oven. If you’re not making it right away, do not add the toothpicks as they will dry out in the fridge. Only add them right before you’re adding the food to the oven or grill.
Let’s Assemble This Dish
- To a bowl mix together the 14 teaspoons of brown sugar and smoked paprika, set aside.
- To a plate, place 1 piece of ham, sprinkle some of brown sugar mixture over top.
- Add 1 slice of pineapple to the lower third area of the ham and roll it up snug like a burrito. Starting at the one end, pin 1 slice of bacon with a toothpick then wrap the bacon down the spear. (do not make it tight as it will tear when it bakes).
- Add a second slice over top the end of the first slice, pin that and wrap until the bacon reaches the bottom. Pin that with the 3rd toothpick and place this wrapped spear on the cooling rack on top of the pan. Repeat this step for the remaining spears.
- Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture overtop of the spears. Add the pan into the Yoder Smokers Pizza oven and bake for 25 minutes. While the spears are baking, make the glaze (see recipe card below).
- After the 25 minutes of baking, pull the pan out of the Yoder Smokers pizza oven, with tongs, carefully flip the spears over and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, baste with the glaze, and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully flip, baste and bake another 5-7 minutes or until the glaze is caramelized and the bacon is fully cooked.
- To serve, plate and remove the toothpicks before eating.
Hello Gorgeous (yes food is gorgeous)
There is something magical that happens to pineapple when it’s candied and then that salty addition of ham and bacon are added. The caramelization of the almost ‘burnt’ sugar paired with that crispy meat is next level.
I make no qualms about my feelings about pineapple on pizza (it’s a hard no – unless you’re a paying customer then you can have all you want!). HOWEVER…and it’s a big however, I honestly think this buttery maple bourbon glaze on pizza dough with the seasoning mix, chunks of meats and pineapple could work. I’ll try it but I’ll make my taste testers try it first.
The Taste Testers Thoughts…
So we have company pretty much every weekend. I was honestly going through my fridge trying to figure out some snacks to make and that’s when I saw the container of cut pineapple on the one shelf (that I honestly forgot about) and a few slices of ham.
Since the guys were here and they will try anything, I whipped this up. When I brought the dish in I could hear the “sniffs” as the smell of cooked bacon is something everyone universally recognizes.
I set it on the counter and, you know how you can feel people behind you, staring at you? Yeah…those guys were already sitting at the counter, beers in hand with the stupidest smiles on their faces.
I explained what it was and looked at Mr. Fantabulous. Now he says he’s no picky but I know otherwise. He’s not one to step too far out of the box if you will. But one thing I love about that man is he will try pretty much everything I make.
He took one, cut it in half and took a bite. Honestly, the BEST REACTION you can have when trying a dish of mine (especially when you’re a skittish eater) is bite into it and your eyes get super big, like you’re in shock and then your eyes close and you get the biggest smile ever while chewing.
That to me is priceless! All but 1 was left… as I pretty much had to threaten them that I’d never feed them again if they didn’t save me one to try. This recipe is one that they’ve been requesting pretty much every weekend since I first made them!
Recipe Substitutions
Normally I have a lot of suggestions but this recipe honestly doesn’t have much wiggle room. However there are a few tweaks you can make:
- Bacon – Try a peppered bacon instead of a regular one
- Seasoning – BBQ rub, Cajun or any rub that pairs beautifully with pork products
- Bourbon – use Vanilla Extract instead but only add in about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Ultimate Buttery Maple Bourbon Glazed Candied Bacon Pineapple Spears
Get ready for a mouthwatering culinary adventure with a sweet and savory twist. Imagine crispy bacon, candied ham, juicy pineapple that’s baked to perfection and finished with a decadent buttery maple bourbon glaze!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Category: appetizer, candied, baked, snacks, cookout foods, bbq, bacon wrapped
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: appetizer, candied, baked, snacks, cookout foods, bbq, bacon wrapped
Ingredients
Spears
- 8 Pineapple Spears (fresh pineapple 1” thick by 6-8” long)
- 8 slices of ham (deli meat)
- 1 pound regular cut bacon (approximately 12–16 slices)
- 14 teaspoons Brown Sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 24 toothpicks (wooden ones must be soaked in water for 30 minutes before making the recipe)
Maple Bourbon Butter Glaze
- 3 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 3 Tablespoons real maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Chupacabra Ribnoxious Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat the Yoder Smokers YS640 with the Pizza Oven in place, to 375F.
- Line a quarter sheet pan with foil and place a cooling rack on top of the sheet pan.
- To a bowl mix together the 14 teaspoons of brown sugar and smoked paprika; set aside.
Make the Spears
- On a plate, place 1 piece of ham, and sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons of brown sugar mixture over top. Add 1 slice of pineapple to the lower third area of the ham and roll it up snugly like a burrito. Starting at the one end, pin 1 slice of bacon with a toothpick then wrap the bacon down the spear. (do not make it tight as it will tear when it bakes). Add a second slice over top of the end of the first slice, pin that, and wrap until the bacon reaches the bottom. Pin that with the 3rd toothpick and place this wrapped spear on the cooling rack on top of the pan. Repeat this step for the remaining spears.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2+ teaspoons of brown sugar mixture over the top of the spears. Add the pan to the Yoder Smokers Pizza oven and bake for 25 minutes. While the spears are baking, make the glaze
Maple Bourbon Butter Glaze
- To a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter. Once the butter melts, add the rest of the ingredients and whisk to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a container.
Finish the Spears
- After the 25 minutes of baking, pull the pan out of the Yoder Smokers pizza oven, with tongs, carefully flip the spears over and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, baste with the glaze, and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully flip, baste, and bake another 5-7 minutes or until the glaze is caramelized and the bacon is fully cooked.
- To serve, plate and remove the toothpicks before eating.
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