Recipes

Blueberry BBQ Chicken

Cuisine: American

Type: Main Course

Serves: 4

Source:	Deep Run Roots
Attributes:	Grill, Book
Comments:	This non-traditional sauce can also be used with grilled pork. The recipe makes more than you'll need for one chicken, so save the left-over sauce for another use.
Serving Suggestions:

Ingredients:

1 3-pound chicken
3 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Blue Q Sauce:

3 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chili flakes

Instructions:

1. Make the sauce: begin by combining the blueberries and a little of the vinegar in a food processor. Pulse the berries just to break them up. You're not trying to achieve smooth berries at this point. You just want to get some blue juice flowing.

2. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring them up to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for one hour, covered. Give it a stir from time to time because it's possible to burn this.

3. Carefully transfer the sauce to a blender. Pull the little knob off the top of the lid and cover it with a dish towel to prevent an explosion. Blend the sauce until it's as smooth as possible. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer and transfer it back to your saucepan. Bring it back to a boil, and reduce the sauce by a third. The Blue Q should coat the back of a spoon. Its viscosity should be more like maple syrup than honey. Refrigerate overnight to let things melt out. This sauce will keep for months covered in the refrigerator.

4. Cook the chicken: light your grill and heat it to roughly 350°F. If using charcoal, throw some water-soaked cherry, pecan, or applewood chips in with the charcoal for the smoke effect.

5. Ask your butcher to butterfly or spatchcock your chicken by cutting the back bone and sternum out and flattening. About 30 minutes before you plan to cook it, bring the chicken to room temperature and season it thoroughly with 3 teaspoons salt and 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper.

6. Place the chicken skin side up on the grill and close the lid. Cook covered for 20 minutes. Begin basting with the blueberry sauce every five minutes for an additional 20 minutes. Keep the grill lid closed between basting. After 40 minutes, turn the chicken over to caramelize the skin and baste the other side for 10 more minutes. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of a meaty part of the leg. If it's at 165°F, remove it from the grill. If not, cook until it reaches the proper temperature, skin side up.

7. Off the grill, douse the chicken in blueberry sauce and let it rest for 10 minutes. Once it's well rested, cut the chicken into six or eight pieces and toss once more in the sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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