I decided that strawberry would be the predominant ingredient in my barbecue sauce and I used ingredients that I had on hand to doctor it up. I wanted it to have the twang of vinegar, the natural sweetness of strawberry, a bit of heat from chipotle and the smoky/salty flavor from bacon. I really liked how it turned out and so did hubby who was skeptical at first. I made Strawberry Balsamic Chipotle Bacon Barbecue Sauce and we basted our grilled chicken with it during the last few minutes of cooking. If you are looking for a different sweet, tangy, smoky, slightly spicy sauce, this sauce fits the bill. After the sauce simmered and had thickened, I pureed it with my immersion blender and then stirred in half of the bacon bits so there would still be little bits of bacon in the sauce (the other half of the bacon was blended into the sauce so the flavor would go throughout it. Since I already had the strawberry chia jam made, it only took about 30 minutes to make the barbecue sauce and I did that while hubby grilled the chicken. I also made my Easy Coleslaw to go with our barbecued chicken. I snapped a few photos below as well as included the easy peasy sauce recipe. Enjoy!
Strawberry Balsamic Chipotle Bacon Barbecue Sauce
Makes approximately 1 cup
Ingredients:
3 strips bacon, diced
1 sliced green onion
1 large clove minced garlic
1 cup sugar free Strawberry Chia Jam
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I used white balsamic)
1 Tablespoon organic gluten free Tamari sauce
1 Tablespoon honey (I used sugar free honey substitute)
1 teaspoon black strap molasses, optional
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
Few dashes smoked paprika
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a 1 quart saucepan, brown diced bacon until crisp. Remove browned bacon and transfer to a small bowl using a slotted spoon (reserving bacon drippings in pan). Add onions to pan and saute for a couple of minutes over medium heat until they begin to soften; add garlic and cook about 1 minute.
Stir in strawberry chia jam, balsamic vinegar, Tamari sauce, honey, molasses, dry mustard, chipotle pepper, smoked paprika and half of the bacon bits. Cook on medium heat until sauce begins to bubble gently. Reduce heat and let simmer until sauce cooks down and begins to thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes. Puree sauce with an immersion blender or in the jar of a regular blender until smooth. Stir in remaining half of bacon bits. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and make any necessary adjustments.
*Note: It's best to reduce and thicken sauce to desired consistency before adding salt or tweaking chipotle, balsamic, etc. since flavors concentrate as it simmers.
9 comments:
Hi GGC,
This looks *really* tasty! You sure had your creativity in high gear on this recipe! I can't remember the last time we BBQ'd chicken. Don't actually know why that is exactly, but this sauce has me thinking about it again. :-) I bet it would be great on short ribs or baby back ribs, too.
I'm sorry to hear that your ankle is giving you trouble. I hope you'll be feeling much better soon. Take care!
Hi Ayla, I hope your ankle will just be a temporary inconvenience! I had to give up all my beautiful shoes and wear *vernuenftige schuhe*I still can hear my father say it when he saw me in very poinetd toe shoes with 3 inch heels . How I miss him!! I am sure that you will be fine soon! Does your job require you to be on your feet all day? Do not laugh please, I just think that you are running a post office ! LOL. I do not kn0nw if you use Aroma therapy, but I started to purchase these wonderful healing oils from doTerra, Intl,LLc . They have a *Deep Blue Rub* to which I add a drop of Lemon-lime (their oil). It helps a lot and I highly recommend it. You just have to find a rep; but since you work at the post-office haha, I am sure that someone already uses these ! I use a bar stool in the kitchen when I a am prepping my food,it helps lot. I use one also in my bathroom when doing my beauty-routine which is almost redundant as there is not much left (beauty)
Your BBQ-sauce sounds divine.-what a fantastic combination of flavors . I have to buy some white chia seeds as I only have the black ones .I missed the farmers market to get my organic berries.
Well this post is again all over the place , please excuse the mess ! Unable to re-structure.
Take care Ayla!!
Hi again,
as I was preparing my Deep Blue Rub I added LEMONGRASS oil not lemon lime !Sorry! I
Hi Barbara,
So good to hear from you again!!! I hope you are doing well. I think my ankle is just a temporary issue and hope it will be better in a few days. No, I do not work at the post office...LOL and I do not work on my feet, I have a desk job, so I am good in terms of not having to stand on my feet.
I haven't used essential oils before but have read about them and I know many people swear by them. Have you used them long? As far as the white chia seeds, other than visual, I think they are the same as the black seeds. The first time I made "chia tapioca pudding" I bought them because I just couldn't bring myself to seeing all these swollen little black seeds in my "tapioca pudding"...it would not have been possible to fool me into thinking it was real tapioca! LOL I hope you are doing well and thanks for the tip about the "lemongrass and deep blue rub". :-)
Hi CyberSis,
Thank you. I enjoyed the combination of flavors in the sauce. The first couple bites your brain was thinking "wow, strawberry" but with every bite I liked it more and more. I actually spread some on sliced turkey breast (Boars Head) and rolled it up this afternoon for lunch.
I will say that while we enjoyed the chicken with "skin and bones"...it does take quite a bit longer to cook than boneless breasts on the grill and I had forgotten about worrying about flare-ups with the skin/fat drippings. We enjoyed it though but had to keep a close eye on it so it didn't morph into a bonfire. :-)
Hi Ayla,
I started the doTerra oils when I was in such bad shape 6 months ago, it was a desperate situation . My daughter finally convinced me to try the oils. Now I have diffusers all over the house ! I also take some of the oils internally . For all the joints that re already destroyed there is no help, the the joints that are being attacked now are less inflamed . I am spending a fortune on medicine that lowers my immune system (on purpose) and that could kill me. I am not supposed to attend gatherings or shake hands, which I m unable to do anyway. Restaurants are out too.
So yes the oils are helping me presently ! When I am really depressed I keep people in mind that are worth of than I am and unfortunately there are plenty.
Take care!
Hi GGC,
AHA! Morphing into a bonfire ... that was it! Another thing: messy. And one more thing: trying to discern the elusive "magic moment" ... would it still be semi-raw, perfectly cooked, or over-done??? Other than that it was great! :-)
Hope your ankle is improving.
Hi Barbara,
I'm sorry to hear you have had such problems but so very happy to hear that you have found something that seems to help. Who knew that something so "simple" could bring you some relief. Let's hope it continues to work for you. I think of you often and am glad that since you can't safely get out in public much that you are able to still enjoy cooking and preparing meals that you can enjoy. It is a shame that so many medications we take to treat one problem open us up to so many risks for other problems. You seem to be such a strong and resilient woman and I really admire that about you. I know chronic pain is not easy to live with. I'm glad you listened to your daughter about the essential oils! (smart girl) :-)
Hi CyberSis,
Yes..you forgot to mention cooking it a little longer just to make sure it's cooked through only to find out you have "leather-cued" chicken instead of barbecued! LOL My ankle seems to be improving...thanks! :-)
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