Grilled Chicken with Blueberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

This blueberry sauce is a perfect glaze on oven-baked chicken. Keep in mind this is not a marinade. Brush it on toward the end of cooking and let the chicken soak up more of the sauce before serving. The final soak is key.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. chicken breasts (pounded thin), chicken thighs (trimmed of fat), or small whole chicken

3 cups blueberries

2 cups apple cider vinegar, divided

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tbsp chipotle puree (or more if you like spicy)

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

Instructions:

Make the sauce: Put the blueberries and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar in a food processor. Pulse the berries just to break them up and get some juices flowing.

In a medium saucepan, combine the pulverized berries with the remaining vinegar, sugar, chipotle puree, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally -- Be careful of burning because of the high sugar content.

When it’s ready, the sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Let it rest overnight before using. The sauce will keep for months, covered, in the refrigerator.

For the chicken:

Coat the chicken with a little olive oil, salt & pepper. Cook on the grill. Toward the end of cooking, brush a little sauce on the chicken. Once off the grill, pour ½ or 1 cup of blueberry BBQ sauce over the chicken and let it rest for 10 minutes. Serve the chicken warm or at room temperature.