Roasted Pineapple Sauce
We all love gravy with our turkey and mash potatoes, yet a gravy with a Hawaiian Themed Thanksgiving Feast doesn’t go as well, as with a traditional Beer Brined Turkey. To play with the Polynesian theme while giving the Dawn of the Red Polynesian Inspired Beer Brined Turkey a better-suited sauce than gravy, I created this sauce.
When beer brining a turkey, the beer-soaked bird will release some of its stored moisture which will collect in the roasting pan and slowly evaporate while the poultry is roasting in the oven. Adding the remaining half of the pineapple that wasn’t puréed into the beer brine, to the roasting pan, while roasting and poaching the pineapple, cooking and caramelizing the fruit, intensifying the sugars, adding some tartness and acid, while having that pineapple upside-down cake-like flavor. The beer brine was also sweetened with brown sugar and the unfermented malt from the beer along with the tropical notes from the hops used to make Dawn of the Red. These drippings become an integral flavor component to the finished sauce. Reducing the drippings with stock further develops these flavors, that when combined with the chopped roasted pineapple and thickened with a corn starch slurry, the ‘Chinese take-out flavor” similar to sweet and sour pork, is brought to the Thanksgiving table.
Makes: 1 quart of sauce, perfect for the Thanksgiving feast, and a touch of leftovers for the next day or two.
Other recipes to make a Hawaiian Themed Thanksgiving Feast:
- Dawn of the Red Polynesian Inspired Beer Brined Turkey
- Hawaiian Style Rolls
- Polynesian Style Stuffing with Portuguese Linguiça Sausage
- Polynesian Style Stuffing with Spam
- Chinese Style Sausage and Shrimp Rice
- Spam Fried Rice
- Classic Poke
Adapted from BeerAdvocate Magazine: Cuisine à la Bière | Nov 2016 | Issue #118
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 16 guests | 5 minute |
| Cook Time |
| 15 minute |
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A pan sauce that requires the making of Dawn of the Red Polynesian Inspired Beer Brined Turkey. adding roasted pineapple, stock and a splash more beer, creates a sweet and bitter sauce, that add and enforces the flavors of the beer brine, complementing the bird and the Hawaiian cuisine.
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- 1 recipe Dawn of the Red Polynesian Inspired Beer Brined Turkey recipe here
- 1 quart stock, chicken or turkey, preferably homemade, recipe for turkey stock
- 1 teaspoon miso, white
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoon water, warm
- 2 ounce India Red Ale, from Ninkiasi Brewing Co. Dawn of the Red, to boost the flavor, if needed.
- salt, kosher to taste
- peppercorns, white, freshly cracked, to taste
- Before the beer brined turkey goes into the oven, the addition chopped pineapple, carrots and Maui onion to the roasting pan, is the biggest technique for this recipes flavor development. As the turkey roasts, it slowly releases some of the beer brine, escaping the skin and dropping from the rack, into the bottom of the roasting pan.
- This beer | stock | drippings mixes with the fruit and vegetables, allowing the to first start off roasting, intensifying the caramelization (also re-enforced with the beer styles malt bill) and creates the base for this sauce.
- The pineapple needs to be removed from the sauce. Using tongs, remove the pieces to a bowl, then transfer to a cutting board. Drain the remaining drippings, the carrots and onions to a sauce pan, along with the stock and miso. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking to combine all the ingredients and reduce until the volume is about a quart. Depending on how much pan drippings were collected, this could take about 10 - 15 minutes. Strain the liquid into a clean sauce pan, pressing on the reserved vegetables, to help them release any remaining liquid and flavor.
- The sauce will be slightly thicker, but not thick enough to be a sauce. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the sauce back to a simmer. In a small cup, mix together the corn starch and water, to make a thick slurry. With the sauce at a simmer, pour in a little of the corn starch slurry at a time, whisking to combine and test the thickness. The thicken you are looking for is thicker than maple syrup, but not as thick as jelly. If you add too much slurry, add a ounce or two of Ninkiasi Brewing Co. Dawn of the Red to brighten the flavor. Let the sauce cook for 2 minutes, cooking out the starch taste, then take it off heat.
- Chop the reserved roasted pineapple and add it to the finished sauce. Adjust seasonings, adding salt or white pepper to the sauce if needed.
- Ladle the sauce over the carved turkey, distributing the roasted pineapple evenly over the bird. Serve immediately or cover with aluminum foil, to keep warm.
