Blueberries and Bourbon
Published July 3, 2021
Blueberries and Bourbon: Nothing says ‘Summer’ to those of us in the US quite like it. A weekend of family, friends, cookouts and celebration. And when it comes to spirits, there’s nothing as American (literally) as Bourbon. Here are some very American recipes to celebrate your patriotic summer gatherings.
Blueberry Bourbon BBQ Sauce
In celebration of America's birthday, I wanted to serve a homemade Blueberry Bourbon BBQ sauce. After many failed recipe attempts, I finally created the flavor profile that suited my taste preference and can be easily altered to suit yours.
1 Cup Fresh Blueberries
½ Cup Ketchup
¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
1 Shallot Sliced
2 Garlic Cloves Smashed
½ Cup Bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve Double Oaked)
1 Tablespoon Oil
Salt and Pepper
In a heavy bottomed frying pan, add oil and heat over medium. Add shallots and garlic. Sauté until onions are soft 5-8 minutes. Turn off heat. Add bourbon and flambé (ignite with long match or long lighter - burning off the alcohol) until the flames die out completely. Turn heat back to medium and add blueberries, ketchup, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. Simmer until blueberries become very soft 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Emulsify liquid with a handheld emulsifier or food processor. Run the sauce through a fine mesh sieve for a smoother consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grilled pork tenderloin.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin
1 Package Pork Tenderloin (not marinated nor seasoned)
Salt and Pepper
Oil
Heat grill to 500°F then turn one of the burners to low heat. Coat tenderloins in oil and season with salt and pepper. Add pork to the high heat side of grill for 1 ½ minutes per side (for a total of 6 minutes) keeping the lid closed between flipping. Then move the pork to the low burner for an additional 4 minutes per each larger side (8 minutes total) keeping the lid closed between flipping, or until instant read thermometer reads 140°F. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
American Flag Fruit and Cookie Dip
Whether you’d like to use the dip as a spread to make a cookie sandwich or as a sweet topping to your favorite fruit, there’s no doubt this flag board is utterly delicious and fun to serve.
For the Cookies:
½ Cup Butter, softened
¼ cup plus 2 Tbl Maple Syrup
2 Cups Flour, plus more for dusting
¼ Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Vanilla
Star Cookie Cutters in Varying Sizes
Preheat oven 350°F. To a bowl of a stand-up mixer add softened butter and maple syrup. Mix until blended. Add the flour, salt, and vanilla. Dough should be soft and come together well. If too dry, add a splash of water. Form a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Cut dough in half and roll out to desired thickness (I like mine thin and crisp to hold the fruit) on a well-floured surface with rolling pin. Dip cookie cutters into flour and cut desired amount of cookies. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes depending on thickness, or until slightly golden on the bottom. Cool on cooling rack and repeat with other half of dough.
For the Dip:
8 oz Cream Cheese
¼ Cup Heavy Cream
¾ Cup Powdered Sugar
½ Teaspoon Vanilla
Add the cream cheese to a standup mixer and beat on medium until smooth. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat well on low speed.
Blueberry Frosting
All it takes is one cup of blueberries to bring a simple buttercream frosting recipe to the next level. And this blueberry frosting is the perfect compliment to your favorite lemon or vanilla cupcake. You can leave the coloring natural (purple) or add food coloring to match your patriotic theme.
1 Cup Butter, softened
4 cups Confectioners Sugar, sifted
1 Cup Blueberries
½ Cup Milk/Cream
½ Teaspoon Vanilla
Black, Blue and Violet Food Coloring, optional
In a small pan on medium heat, add blueberries and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Once cooked, push the blueberries through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to collect the juice. Discard the skins and set the juice aside to cool. In a bowl of a stand up mixer, beat butter on medium until light and fluffy. Turn the speed to low and gradually add the sugar until incorporated. Add blueberry juice and vanilla and mix well on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Coloring the frosting to Blueberry Blue: If coloring a vanilla frosting - you'll use 4 parts blue, 2 parts violet to 1 part black until desired color is reached. Because the blueberry frosting already has a purple tone, you'll use 4 parts blue, 1 part violet and 1 part black until desired depth of color is reached.
Pipe frosting into petals using Wilton Petal Tip 102.
Happy Fourth!
Enjoy!
Renée Meuse Lovley