Grilled Haole-Style Yams with Pineapple Butter

Hawaiian-inspired grilled sweet potatoes wrapped in foil and cooked over coals until tender, then split open and topped with a warm pineapple butter spiked with teriyaki sauce. “Haole style” means this is the mainland-meets-island approach, blending familiar flavors with a tropical twist.

The foil wrap does the work of a slow oven on the grill. Forty-five to sixty minutes over medium-hot coals steams the yams in their own moisture until they’re soft enough to pinch through the foil. The result is creamy, caramelized flesh that’s sweeter than oven-baked potatoes because the grill’s dry heat concentrates the sugars.

The pineapple butter is just three ingredients warmed together: crushed pineapple, margarine, and teriyaki sauce. Sweet, salty, and tangy all at once. Spooned into the split yam, it melts into the hot flesh and creates a sauce that pools in the center.

Teriyaki sauce is the bridge between sweet and savory here. Its soy-sugar base amplifies the natural sweetness of both the yam and the pineapple while adding an umami depth that keeps it from tasting like dessert.

Chef Tips

• Pinch the foil-wrapped yams to test doneness. They should give easily under pressure.
• Use medium-hot coals, not blazing. Too hot and the outside burns before the center cooks through.
• Warm the pineapple butter while the yams grill so everything is hot when you serve.
• These work as a side for grilled chicken, pork, or as part of a Hawaiian plate lunch.

Variations

• Coconut pineapple: Stir 2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes into the pineapple butter for extra tropical flavor.
• Spicy teriyaki: Add a dash of sriracha or sambal to the pineapple butter for a sweet-heat kick.
• Oven version: Bake the foil-wrapped yams at 400°F (200°C) for the same time if you don’t have a grill.