Blackberry BBQ Sauce Recipe with Grilled Chicken

Grilled Chicken with Blackberry BBQ Sauce

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4.67 from 3 votes

Blackberry BBQ Sauce Recipe with Grilled Chicken

Grilled Chicken with Blackberry BBQ Sauce. A great way to use summer berries and jazz up grilled chicken.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Resting Time5

Total Time35

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American, barbecue, bbq

Keyword: Blackberry BBQ Sauce, blueberry bbq sauce

Servings: servings

Author: Mary Cressler | Vindulge

Cost: $20

Equipment

Instant Read Thermometer
Long Tongs
Silicone Brush for Glaze

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

1 whole chicken, quartered (about 4 lbs)
Extra virgin olive oil, to coat (roughly ¼ cup)
¼ cup chicken seasoning

For the Blackberry BBQ Sauce:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup hot sauce (we love Valentina hot sauce)
¼ cup cane sugar
¼ cup agave nectar (honey works too)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
6 ounces blackberries (or other favorite berry, about 1 ½ cups)

Instructions

For the Chicken:

Prep Grill: Set your grill for 2-zone cooking with lump charcoal. Target 500 degrees Fahrenheit in the cooking chamber.
Season: Coat chicken with olive oil and then season liberally with your dry rub.
Grill Direct: Place chicken on grill grate over direct heat, paying close attention to the flame to get a nice crust, about 3-4 minutes (or until you see nice grill marks) then flip and repeat on direct heat. Once there are nice grill marks move to indirect side of grill to finish.
Grill Indirect: When chicken reaches 150 degrees, glaze once with your sauce and continue cooking. Remove chicken from the grill when internal temperature reaches 160 degrees in the thickest part of the meat. If you are cooking various pieces the wings, legs, and thighs will finish first followed by the chicken breast.
Glaze: Reglaze chicken once more and let sit for at least 5 minutes to let the juices redistribute and then enjoy.

For the Blackberry BBQ Sauce:

Combine: In a medium saucepan add all BBQ sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has reduced a bit and the berries have softened (using a potato masher or fork to break up the berries a bit).
Blend: Transfer to a food processor or blender to make smooth, or pour the sauce through a strainer to remove some of the pulp and seeds. Use as the glaze and to serve.

Notes

With the hot sauce in the BBQ sauce: if your hot sauce is really spicy add it 1 tablespoon at a time. We like Valentina hot sauce, which isn’t too spicy. Just know that the spicier the hot sauce the spicier the resulting BBQ sauce will be. So start small.

A note on time: Chicken pieces will all cook at various times. The important part is to grill the chicken and remove when it hits the correct internal temperature.

Nutrition