TANGY BLUEBERRY BOURBON STEAK SAUCE

(Or...Blueberry Bourbon & Onion Chutney)

No, I'm NOT Joking!

Well, this all began with a family outing to the local blueberry farm, The Blueberry Farm And Bakehouse, where we spent a lovely, albeit windy, morning picking berries. We ended up picking roughly a kilogram (that's 2.2 Lbs) of blueberries and later purchased a "Gynormous Brownie Sundae" before heading home with our loot.

Now, we all know by now how good these little blue wonders can be for us with their antioxidants and such, however, I still needed to figure out what to do with them if we weren't going to eat them all within the next couple of days (a challenge even for us!). Sure, I thought about writing about pancakes, but seeing how my friend in Oregon had JUST posted hers, I certainly didn't want to be a copycat or look like I was competing for best blueberry pancakes, now did I?!?! Yes, I did make some of the standard blueberry muffins and I even took some berries (and muffins) next door to our favourite neighbour, but...I remembered seeing this weird, yet wonderful, recipe over at the Lobster Gram Recipe blog that I just had to try. Sure, I was hesitant...more like sceptical yet curious, but it sounded like it just might work. I often prepared my steaks this way or only slightly varying from it anyway, so the sauce was the only potential challenge for me. I just wasn't sure if the challenge was making or eating it! :o)

When the sauce was ready, it did smell REALLY, REALLY good...sort of a tangy and spicy barbecue sauce or slightly fruity onion chutney and it really was a fantastic compliment to the steaks (which we don't tend to eat too often in order to stick with healthier protein options when possible). What a treat this was!

Just as my last little comment here before you go start assembling the ingredients, I would suggest even making this in a larger batch and jarring/canning it as a gift or even just saving some aside as a snack topping. I took the leftover sauce with me next-door one day and we had it on crackers and cheese - YUMM...

Also, feel free to adjust the spices and try different types of peppers to change it up just a bit, but it is simply lovely just like this.

BLUEBERRY BOURBON SAUCE ~ INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ Tsp Light Cooking Oil (I use Rice Bran Oil, but Canola Oil is okay too)
½ Red Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, crushed or chopped
1 Tsp Tabasco Sauce (or 1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded & chopped)
¼ Cup Bourbon
1 Cup Blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
¼ Cup Tomato Ketchup (not the Kiwi “Tomato Sauce”, as it contains spices not found in proper ketchup)
3 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1½ Tsp Molasses
1 Pinch of Allspice (ground)


STEAKS ~ INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp Thyme, fresh chopped
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¾ Tsp Salt (I used freshly ground sea salt)
½ Tsp Black Pepper, coarsely ground
4 Steaks (Filet Mignon or Fillet Steaks are the best)

DIRECTIONS:

First, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Next add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just starting to brown, 2 to 4 minutes.

Now add the garlic and Tabasco Sauce (or jalapenos) and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds before adding the bourbon.

Next, increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil, cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, approx 2 to 5 minutes.

Stir in blueberries, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, molasses and allspice and then return it to a boil.

Now reduce the heat and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened, approx 15 minutes or so.

Preheat the barbecue grill to high and then combine the thyme, oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl to rub the onto both sides of the steaks.

Grill the steaks about 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, then allow the steaks rest for 5 minutes before serving with the sauce.

This is a surprisingly tasty sauce and a versatile one at that, so give it a go and see what you think! Happy cooking!!!