Ree Drummond's Method For Cutting A Pineapple Perfectly Every Time

Slicing pineapple with no special tools needed can be intimidating. Where do you start? Well, if you are Ree Drummond, it's by first removing the leafy crown and the base of this regal-looking tropical fruit. The Pioneer Woman posted a video on her Instagram demonstrating her technique, and this could definitely fit in as one of her top tips in the kitchen. Along with her video she shared, "This is how I've cut up a pineapple since I was 18 months old. Well, or however old I was when I first cut up a pineapple. I'm sure there's a more intuitive way to do it but this has worked fine for me for the past twelve decades or so." 

After removing that glorious top and bottom, she stands the pineapple upright, and with her chef's knife, she skillfully slices the skin off, starting at the top and making her incisions straight down, rotating the fruit and slicing until all of the exterior is gone. What you will notice is her cuts are deep enough to get rid of the pineapple's pesky eyes, but not so deep that she is wasting any of the fruit. Clearly she has had some practice!

Once the skin is removed, Ree Drummond slices the pineapple straight down the middle and continues to cut straight down each time until she has multiple wedges that are similar in size. Next she slices the core off of each wedge and discards it before cutting the wedges into perfectly sized chunks. While you can definitely eat the core if you prefer not to waste it, it is a little bit on the tougher side to sink your choppers into. You could use it in a tropical smoothie if you chop it up so it doesn't hurt the blades of your blender.

That said, many of her followers chimed in saying, they too cut their pineapple in this manner. One wrote, "Been doing it that way myself for years. But I do cut out more of those little round things that the initial paring of the pineapple doesn't remove." Drummond definitely has knife skills. It is laudable that she is able to get so many of the fruit's eyes without having to go back and remove them. Still, another follower noted, "Seems like a pretty sharp knife, that's 1/2 the battle."

And speaking of the appropriate knife to use for this task, you need a sturdy one with a long, sharp blade that can easily remove that tough outer pineapple skin. This is why a chef's knife is going to be your first choice  to help get this job done. If you do not have a chef's knife, a serrated knife is your next best option.

How do you know when you pineapple is ready to be sliced up? The Pioneer Woman shared on her website, "I have a foolproof method! First, I buy a pineapple. Then I stick it in my fridge and forget about it ... by the time I remember, it's perfectly ripe!" Of course, if you need a little more guidance before you insert your knife into your fruit, you should try and pull the leaf from the center of the crown. If it is easy to pluck off, then your pineapple is ready for some slicing and dicing.