Grilled Blueberry BBQ Salmon

It’s another gorgeous day in Seattle. The sun is shining, the skies are blue, and it’s days like these that I think maybe I won’t need to move to San Diego for sunshine after all because Seattle is looking too damn beautiful.

With summer finally here, I’ve been on a grilling kick lately and I can almost guarantee you that this kick won’t end until fall. Can you really beat an ice cold beer and some food fresh off the BBQ? I think not. And this salmon? Well, it completely caught me off guard. I was a little skeptical of the blueberry + BBQ sauce combination, especially on salmon, but it just…works. I grilled some corn, had some sweet potatoes on the side, and called it a day.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds salmon filet (whole or cut into portions)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the sauce:

• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add blueberries. Heat until they begin to bubble and burst, about 10 minutes, then mash with a fork. Be absolutely sure to heat the blueberries on LOW. Or else you might burn them black, throw $6 worth of blueberries down the disposal and have to start over. Ugh. Add in ketchup, both vinegars, brown sugar, onion and garlic powder, ground mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk well to combine and break up blueberries and turn the heat up to medium. Heat until mixture bubbles, stirring every few minutes, then turn heat back down to low. Cook for 20 minutes, whisking every few minutes. Sauce will be slightly clumpy and thicker than regular BBQ sauce. At this point, you’re probably ready to taste test that sucker of a sauce, so here is my warning to you: when I first tasted it, I thought it was entirely too vinegar-y, so I added another 3/4 tbs. of brown sugar, which did the trick. This might make it too sweet for you though, so use your discretion — if you loooove vinegar, don’t add more sugar. If you can’t stand the stuff (like me) add a tsp. or two of brown sugar at a time until it tastes right.

Preheat your grill. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, and once the grill is hot, lay filet directly on top. Cook for 5 minutes, then gently flip. Using a pastry brush, brush BBQ sauce on salmon and let cook until flaky and opaque, about 5-6 more minutes. This will also depend on the thickness of your salmon. Once salmon is finished, slather with remaining BBQ sauce and serve.

Yields: 2-3 servings

Recipe from: How Sweet It Is