Grilled Blueberry BBQ Salmon
Apparently there are some people in this world who don’t like fruit with their fish. Thankfully, I don’t know any of them. If you happen to be a fruit with fish hater (tear), perhaps this recipe will convert you. Especially with summer “officially” here, this is a refreshing dinner that is easy to throw together after a day at the pool, and won’t ruin your waistline for the rest of bikini season. I was somewhat hesitant about the sauce, since it’s fruit combined with garlic, onion and mustard powder – but I figured anything originally from The Neely’s would be hard to ruin. Somehow the flavors just seem to work, and created an interesting twist on a simple salmon recipe.
I personally like to keep the skin on the salmon it because it keeps it in one piece while grilling and adds moisture to the filet, but you could also grill up a fish filet as long as you throughly oil the grate. While the sauce is mostly “hands off”, it does need about 30 minutes total of simmer time – which I kind of enjoy because it gives you a chance to shower from the pool, pick up the house, or just relax with a glass of wine on the patio. Unfortunately my brother won’t be bringing any Copper River salmon back from Alaska this year, but if your pocketbook can afford it, it’s in season now!
Grilled Blueberry BBQ Salmon
Serves 2-4 depending on amount of salmon used
- ¾ – 1 ½ pounds salmon filet, with skin on
- Salt and Pepper
For the Sauce:
- 1/2 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
Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add blueberries. Heat for 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 simmering and bubbles appear, then turn heat back down to low. Cook for an additional 20 minutes, whisking every few minutes. Sauce will be thicker than a normal barbecue sauce.
Preheat your grill to it’s highest setting and spray grate with oil. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, and once the grill is hot, lay skin side up directly on grate. Cook for 5 minutes, then gently flip so that skin side is down. Using a pastry brush, brush BBQ sauce on salmon and let cook until flaky and opaque, about 5-6 more minutes. Adjust time as needed for thicker/thinner salmon (mine was about 1 1/2 inches with skin.)
Source: How Sweet It Is
Spice Is Nice 