I’ve been making the same BBQ sauce recipe since I was about 20 years old. It’s pretty simple, but over the years I tweak it now and again to mix things up a bit. For this recipe, I picked up some gorgeous blackberries from Detwiler’s Farmer’s Market, along with some locally raised chicken breasts, and did a quick (and optional) three hour brine on the chicken. I decided to go against my usual-savory-only grain with the Honey Roasted Carrots, but since the BBQ sauce has a bit of a kick to it the carrots complimented the dish nicely. I love adding berries to BBQ sauce so feel free to experiment with whatever is in season near you.

Blackberry BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

2 good quality skinless Chicken breasts

about 1 tsp Grapeseed oil, or oil of choice

about 1 cup Blackberries, loosely packed

8 oz can organic Tomato sauce, or homemade tomato sauce

5 tbls Brown sugar, or to taste

2 tbls White vinegar

2 tbls Tabasco sauce

1/4 cup Yellow Mustard

Salt to taste

Generous amount of Black Pepper

Method:

To make the sauce – heat a saucepan over med flame adding in the blackberries, brown sugar, vinegar, Tabasco, mustard and whisk until well combined. Bring to a soft simmer, reduce to low flame, and continue cooking until reduced into a thick sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Adjust sugar according to the sweet/tartness of the berries. Serve immediately as a codominant or baste over your favorite BBQ entrees.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Preheat a grill pan over med high flame. Coat the chicken breast with the oil on all sides and lightly salt and pepper. Sear the chicken on the grill pan on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes each. Remove chicken from grill pan and add to a cast iron skillet or casserole dish. Coat the chicken in the blackberry bbq sauce on both sides. Finish the chicken in the oven, occasionally basting with additional bbq sauce, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Let the chicken rest a few minutes then serve with additional bbq sauce, if desired.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Ingredients:

4 to 6 large Carrots, washed and thickly sliced

about 2 tsps raw Honey

about 2 tbsp Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently heat the butter and honey in a saucepan until honey is just warmed through and melted. Add the carrots to a baking pan or sheet tray. Toss the carrots with the honey butter, salt and pepper to taste, and roast in the oven about 30 minutes or until the carrots begin to caramelize. Serve immediately.