Pineapple–Chipotle Cocktail Sausages
Glossy barbecue bites with golden pineapple, smoky chipotle and a bright lime finish.
Method
Drain and mix
Wash hands and rinse the lime and scallions. Keep sausages refrigerated until needed; check that the package says fully cooked, not cook-before-eating. Drain pineapple over a bowl; measure 1/3 cup juice and reserve it for the glaze. Use all the drained fruit, patting it dry to limit splattering. In a small bowl whisk barbecue sauce, Dijon, 1 tsp chipotle, smoked paprika and the measured juice. Slice scallion greens and squeeze 2 tsp lime juice.
Give the pineapple some color
Heat a deep 12-inch skillet with a lid (at least 4-quart capacity) over medium-high for about 1 minute. Add oil, then the dry pineapple in a broad layer. Cook 4–5 minutes, turning once or twice, until a few edges are golden; it need not brown on every side. Lower the heat if the juice threatens to scorch. Do not add extra sugar.
Simmer the sausages gently
Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the glaze and cold fully cooked sausages. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring twice so everything heats evenly. Uncover and simmer 3–5 minutes more, stirring often, until the sauce clings to the sausages and fruit rather than pooling like broth. Lower heat if it catches; add the optional water only 1 tbsp at a time, no more than 2 tbsp total, if too thick before the food is hot.
Check the heat, then brighten
Heat to 165°F (74°C) in several sausages from different parts of the pan; this is our conservative endpoint for the fully cooked product. Lift a piece with clean tongs and insert a thin-tip thermometer sideways into its center, with the sensing area inside the sausage, not touching the pan. Clean the probe after under-temperature checks and keep cooking as needed; bubbling glaze is not a center-temperature test. Stir in all the lime juice. Taste the hot glaze and add up to the remaining 1 tsp chipotle only if desired; stir and let it bubble briefly. Scatter scallion greens over the top and serve promptly with toothpicks or small forks.