Spring is here and we are in full grilling mode! How about you? We spent a day cleaning out our Big Green Egg and replacing the seal on so we can grill up a storm this year!
Blueberry Pomegranate BBQ Chicken Wings
The first thing we grilled since the calendar officially turned spring was some Blueberry Pomegranate BBQ Chicken Wings! I love a good sticky, gooey sauce on my wings. You know the ones that you want to lick your fingers when nobody’s looking?
The base of this sauce is the Stonewall Kitchen’s Blueberry Pomegranate Jam. I love using jams as my BBQ sauce base as there is so much flavor and the pectin builds a thicker sauce without much effort!
How to Make Blueberry Pomegranate Sauce
Combine the jam, brown sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar and fresh blueberries in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 3-5 minutes and then reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Allow the sauce to cool. Once cool, blend to the consistency that you like in a food processor or a blender.
The sauce will store well in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. It thickens up beautifully in the refrigerator.
Options for this Barbecue Sauce
Since we wanted this to be a spin on a traditional sauce, we opted to add in a pint of blueberries that we pureed in the Vitamix. I like that I can pulse a time or two and it smooths out a lot of the blueberries, leaving a sauce that is thick, chunky and full of flavor! If you have a food processor, you can do the same thing.
Although this recipe used brown sugar, you will achieve great results by splitting up the brown sugar with honey for similar results. I love using honey in my bbq sauces, but this time I reached for the brown sugar and it turned out great!
For a sweeter sauce, decrease the ketchup and add in molasses. Have you ever researched a lot of the old bbq sauce recipes? Have you seen that so many of them used molasses in their recipes? If you haven’t tried it, this is a great one to give it a whirl. The blueberries added enough sweetness, so I didn’t think we needed molasses in this recipe.
Technique for Applying the BBQ Sauce
When we grill the wings, we like to do a good double/triple swipe of the sauce. Here is how that works:
- When the wings are just about done, brush on a little bit of sauce. The sauce will run and not stick right away.
- Allow the heat to melt with the sugars in the sauce for about 30-60 seconds.
- Brush on again and this layer will start to stick really good and you will notice that it has a more “ooey-gooey” consistency to it.
- Flip the wings and repeat the process it.
- Don’t rush it and don’t just brush on once and think you will achieve the layers of sauce that you want. The sauce melts too fast and can fall quickly into the grill. You want it to stick, so swipe on/brush it 2-3 more times and you won’t look back.
- With this trick, I like to find LONG brushes since the heat is so close to my hands and I have to spend so much time brushing on the sauce. My favorite one comes from Walmart for 99 cents! Seriously, pick up a few and you won’t regret it!
Grilling the Wings
Set up the grill for direct heat and bring the temperature to 350 degrees.
Once the grill is up to temperature, add the chicken wings. Grill one side for around five minutes and turn them over to grill the other side for another five minutes.
The wings should be almost done and then add the blueberry pomegranate BBQ sauce. Make sure you have a nice thick brushing of the sauce. It is so delish!
Ingredients
- 1/2 jar Blueberry Pomegranate Jam Stonewall
- 6 tbsp ketchup
- 6 tbsp brown sugar
- 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 pint blueberries
- 12 each chicken wings
Instructions
Make the Blueberry Pomegranate Sauce
- Pour all ingredients into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
- Boil sauce for 3-5 minutes and turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes.
- Allow sauce to cool and then blend in food processor or blender to make smooth. Sauce will thicken once it cools.
Grilled Blueberry Pomegranate Chicken Wings
- Set up your grill for direct heat at 350 degrees
- Add wings to the grill and cook for four to five minutes.
- Turn over the wings and cook for another four to five minutes.
- Apply a few layers of the BBQ sauce and grill for another minute to caramelize the sugars in the sauce.
