Grilled Blueberry BBQ Salmon

Grilled Blueberry BBQ Salmon.

June 3, 2011

I want to tell you all about this salmon, but I can barely think about grilling. Ever since arriving in Austin, all I want to do is take a long, hot bath in a tub of ice cream. Heavy on the ice please.

Um… it’s a little warm here.

But before I left Pittsburgh and walked into the personal 24- hour steam bath that is currently circling my body, I made potato salad. Then I made salmon. Then we ate it. Together.

I totally could have lived on that potato salad alone, but according to my other half, potatoes do not a dinner make. Why, why, why?

I heated some blueberries until they bubbled and burst, and made a quick homemade barbecue sauce with slightly less sugar than usual. Nearly ate it with a spoon. Slathered it on some buttery grilled salmon and called it a day. Ate until I could no longer breathe and enjoyed every moment.

Do this. It’s fantastic.

Grilled Blueberry BBQ Salmon

sauce adapted from The Neely’s

serves 2-3

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 (I used blueberry flavored)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add blueberries. Heat until the begin to bubble and burst, about 10 minutes, then mash with a fork. 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.

Preheat your grill to it’s highest setting. 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 (mine was about 1 1/2 inches thick). Once salmon is finished, slather with remaining BBQ sauce and serve.