Make Dad’s Day With Some Awesome Blueberry Barbecue

As a general rule, dads everywhere love grilling and barbecue almost as much as they love their kids. Show your dad you love him this Father’s Day by making one or all of our favorite blueberry barbecue dishes for him. The tangy notes of blueberries pair well with barbecue’s usual sweet, savory, and spicy flavors.

Blueberry Barbecue Recipes

Traditional barbecue recipes use the ‘low and slow’ method of cooking, meaning low heat over a long time, allowing you to spend time with your dad. Maybe you’ll finally tell him where that dent in the car really came from all those years ago or about the time you almost set the house on fire; regardless, after these dishes are cooked and eaten, dad will surely share that you’re his favorite!

hero_blueberry-chipotle-bbq-wings3-201x300-3548129Blueberry Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Wings

Everyone loves chicken wings, and this recipe gets a leg and a wing up from blueberries.

Chicken Wing Ingredients

  • 4 pounds chicken drumettes and wings

  • 1/2 cup unbleached all­-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

Blueberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 6 shallots sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 3 cups frozen blueberries
  • 4 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 4 tablespoons molasses
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon all spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1­-2 Chipotle peppers from can
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 500°F with the oven rack set on the upper middle level. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder and black pepper.
  2. Coat each wing with flour mixture and place them on a lightly greased rimmed baking sheet. Spray wings with cooking spray; bake for 25 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, heat a pan over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil. When the pan is hot, fry the shallots until lightly browned; add garlic and ginger, frying until they turn light brown.
  4. Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce (except the chipotle pepper, salt and black pepper); bring to a boil.
  5. Turn heat to low and simmer covered for 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
  6. Once mixture has cooled, pour into a blender along with the chipotle pepper. Blend until smooth.
  7. If sauce is too thick, add a touch of water; season with salt and black pepper.
  8. Remove wings from oven and toss with sauce. Serve immediately.

Number of servings (yield): 15-18

blueberry-relish-instructographic-final-300x204-4448006Grilled Chicken with Blueberry Relish

If your dad has a bit of a refined palette, try this grilled chicken recipe with blueberry relish.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
  • 2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary, divided
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup blueberry preserves
  • 4 medium sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Add blueberries, 1 tbsp of rosemary, balsamic and blueberry preserves into a pan
  2. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until the liquid has started thicken.
  3. Crush the blueberries with the back of a spoon and set aside
  4. Preheat grill to high
  5. Drizzle olive oil over chicken and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Place on the grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the chicken.
  7. Serve on a large plate and top with the blueberry relish and the remaining chopped rosemary

Number of servings (yield): 4-6 servings

hero-image-blueberry-bbq-baked-ribs-2-1-200x300-2984121Blueberry Barbecue Glazed Ribs

These blueberry ribs are so good, they just may make your dad cry. These ribs can be cooked in the oven or the grill, but start early because they need to marinade overnight.

Ribs Ingredients

  • 2 racks ribs
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

Blueberry Barbecue Glaze Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups honey BBQ sauce

  • 1-1/2 cups frozen blueberries
  • 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

Instructions

  1. Dry the ribs with paper towels.  In a medium bowl, mix together all dry rub ingredients well.
  2. Press rub onto both sides of rib racks.  Tightly wrap each individual rack with tin foil.
  3. Place in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and let sit in fridge overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 300°F.
  5. Bake foil wrapped ribs on baking sheet for 2-1/2 hours.
  6. During the last half hour of cook time, make the sauce.
  7. In a medium saucepan, combine BBQ sauce, liquid smoke and blueberries.
  8. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently.  Use a spatula to break apart some of the blueberries.  Cook another five minutes. Let ribs cool, then remove foil.
  9. Discard juices.
  10. Brush ribs generously with sauce reserving some for serving.
  11. Broil ribs for five minutes or just until the tops are nicely browned.
  12. Serve with additional sauce.

Number of servings (yield): 2 racks of ribs

Need some side dishes to make your barbecue dishes into a party? Try Blueberry and Sweet Potato Slaw and Blueberry Barbecue Baked Beans.

Find more delicious blueberry-filled recipes on the BlueberriesFromFlorida.com recipes pages or the Blueberries from Florida Pinterest recipe boards.

All recipes and photos courtesy of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Growers Council.

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