Ten items and thirty minutes, and only ten of those minutes are over heat.
There is no sauce and no dip. What flavours it is a single toss before it goes on the grill.
Why This Recipe Works
- Alternating shrimp and pineapple keeps both in contact with the bars.
- Medium-high heat chars the pineapple's sugars in the time shrimp need.
- A teaspoon of honey is enough to help char without becoming a glaze.
- Threading holds small pieces steady so they can be turned as one.
- Sliding everything off the skewers is what gives the platter its loose pieces.
Ingredient Notes
- Fresh pineapple
- Three cups in chunks. Fresh rather than tinned — it holds together on a skewer and chars where a soft tinned chunk would collapse.
- Honey
- One teaspoon in the toss. Small deliberately: enough to help the edges catch, nowhere near enough to make a glaze.
- Fresh red chile
- One small one, finely chopped and added after grilling. Not named in the title and clearly visible on the platter.
- Metal or soaked wooden skewers
- Eight of them. They are equipment rather than presentation — everything comes off them before the platter.
How to Make It
Grill to medium-high, everything tossed together
Heat grill to medium-high. Toss shrimp and pineapple with oil, lime juice, honey, paprika, and salt.
Threaded alternately
Thread shrimp and pineapple alternately onto skewers.
Two to three minutes a side, until charred and opaque
Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side until the pineapple chars and the shrimp turns pearly, opaque, and firm.
Taken off the skewers before plating
Remove the shrimp and pineapple from the skewers before plating so the platter shows loose charred pieces rather than visible skewers.
Chile and coriander — no glaze, no starch
Finish with red chile and coriander. Do not add a heavy glaze or starch.
Named for Skewers, Served Without Them
These are called skewers and there is not a stick anywhere on the platter. The skewers are FOR THE COOKING METHOD, and the food comes off them before it is served. Which means they are equipment, and step 4 is where they stop being part of the dish.
Stage 1 of 5
One toss - and that is all the seasoning there is
Steps 1–1 of 5
1 1/4 lb of shrimp and 3 cups of FRESH pineapple chunks tossed with 1 tbsp neutral oil, 1 tbsp LIME JUICE, 1 TSP HONEY, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp salt. Nothing else is added at any later point except the herb and chilli. Note the honey: ONE TEASPOON across nearly 2 lb of food. There is no glaze here - just a teaspoon of honey to help the edges catch, and step 5 refuses a heavy glaze outright.
- Grill to medium-high, everything tossed togetherHeat grill to medium-high. Toss shrimp and pineapple with oil, lime juice, honey, paprika, and salt.
Stage 2 of 5
Threaded ALTERNATELY
Steps 2–2 of 5
Shrimp and pineapple alternating onto 8 metal or SOAKED WOODEN skewers. Alternating is not decorative: it spaces the pieces so each one sits against the bars and gets its own char, and it lets a whole row be turned in one movement. Soaked or metal, because dry wood over medium-high heat for ten minutes burns through.
- Threaded alternatelyThread shrimp and pineapple alternately onto skewers.
Stage 3 of 5
2 TO 3 MINUTES PER SIDE, two endpoints at once
Steps 3–3 of 5
Until THE PINEAPPLE CHARS and THE SHRIMP TURNS PEARLY, OPAQUE AND FIRM - that is doneness. Those two things arriving together is the reason medium-high is right: hot enough to caramelise pineapple's sugars into char marks, brief enough that shrimp do not toughen. You want char on BOTH, and direct grill heat is the only thing that gives it.
- Two to three minutes a side, until charred and opaqueGrill 2 to 3 minutes per side until the pineapple chars and the shrimp turns pearly, opaque, and firm.
Stage 4 of 5
OFF the skewers, before plating
Steps 4–4 of 5
The step that explains the title. Everything is removed from the skewers so the platter shows LOOSE CHARRED PIECES rather than visible sticks - no skewers, sticks or threading on the platter. Do it while the pieces are hot and they slide off cleanly.
- Taken off the skewers before platingRemove the shrimp and pineapple from the skewers before plating so the platter shows loose charred pieces rather than visible skewers.
Stage 5 of 5
Chilli and coriander, and an empty platter otherwise
Steps 5–5 of 5
1 small chopped RED CHILE - a visible component the title never names - and 2 tbsp of coriander, both added after the grill so neither scorches. Then the refusals: NO HEAVY GLAZE and NO STARCH, and no sauce and no dip either. The platter carries shrimp, pineapple, herb and chilli, and nothing else at all.
- Chile and coriander — no glaze, no starchFinish with red chile and coriander. Do not add a heavy glaze or starch.
Success Tips
- Soak wooden skewers first, or use metal; dry wood scorches through in ten minutes.
- Cut the pineapple into chunks close to the size of the shrimp so both cook together.
- Push everything off with a fork while it is still hot; it comes away cleanly then.
Serving Ideas
Four servings on a white platter, whole grilled shrimp with charred edges among charred golden pineapple chunks, scattered with chopped coriander and red chilli. No skewers on the plate, and nothing to dip it in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why take the food off the skewers?
Skewers are how this cooks — they hold small pieces steady over direct heat — but the dish is served as loose charred pieces on a platter rather than on sticks.
Is there a glaze?
No. A teaspoon of honey goes into the toss before grilling, and step 5 rules out a heavy glaze. The char is the finish.
How do I know the shrimp are ready?
Pearly or white, opaque and firm — usually at about the same point the pineapple has taken its char.
