My back yard garden hasn’t produced quite like I was hoping it would this year.  However, the blackberry bushes between my house and the parking lot behind my house is proving to be abundantly productive.

I’ve gotten a little bored with pies and smoothies and have been looking for some new creative ways to use up the bounty.  Then it came to me, Barbecue Sauce! After consulting several recipes in books, blogs, and of course my Pinterest “Yum” board, I came up with something of my own to bring the right combo of tangy, sweet & spicy to the table.

Ingredient List so far:
4-5 cups blackberries
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 cup bourbon
2 dried guajillo chilies
2 onions
2 small piloncillos
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp smoked sea salt
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp anise seed powder
2 bay leaves

Simmer blackberries, chicken stock & bourbon together till berries break down. Purée berries & juicy goodness and then strain out the seeds.

Btw, it’s important to let the berry mixture cool down before puréeing so YOUR blender doesn’t belch purple hot goo all over like mine did (see below for an exact illustration of what I’m talking about).

Slice up the onion & sauté on medium heat in a large sauce pan with a tablespoon of olive oil till they are translucent. Toss in the guajillo peppers and add the blackberry purée.

Let sauce simmer on medium heat and reduce by a third.

Add in the remainder of the ingredients and let the sauce continue simmering on medium low till thickened. I let it simmer and reduce by another third which on medium low took another two hours.

Tomorrow I’m going to pick up some meat and see how this stuff goes over on various proteins.  At the moment I’m thinking Salmon.  Tune in for BBQ sauce part two!

The good news is that much of the simmer time passes in a blink while you crawl around scrubbing blackberry juice off windows, blinds, books, and whatnot.