Cook More, Waste Less

Wild Blueberry and Ginger Pulled Chicken Tacos

By Christine Tizzard From her latest Cookbook Cook More, Waste Less

These are my favorite tacos, and bonus: they make great use of leftover roast chicken (or pulled pork or braised beef), but the secret is really in the blueberries. Since you can only buy them fresh for about two weeks in August, keep a bag of frozen ones on hand. This is not your average taco filling. The spicy hit of fresh ginger pairs swimmingly with the wild blueberries.

WILD BLUEBERRY & GINGER BARBECUE SAUCE

½ onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped or grated fresh ginger

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup honey

1¼ cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries

Salt and pepper

PULLED CHICKEN FILLING

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2–3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp Mexican Spice Mix

½ cup Poultry Stock

2–3 cups pulled chicken from ½ Roast Chicken

Salt and pepper

Taco shells or tortillas, for serving

1. For the Wild Blueberry and Ginger Barbecue Sauce: In a medium-size saucepot, combine all of the barbecue sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until sauce reduces by one-third, from roughly 2 cups to 1-1/2 cups.

2. Let the sauce cool slightly. You can leave the sauce chunky or transfer it to a food processor or blender and blend until the sauce is fairly smooth. Set ½ cup of the sauce aside for the pulled chicken and store the rest for another use.

3. For the Pulled Chicken Filling: In a large saucepot over medium heat, add the oil, and sauté the onion and garlic until softened.

4. Stir in the peppers and spice mix and sauté until the peppers soften.

5. Add the broth and ½ cup of the reserved Wild Blueberry Barbecue Sauce and bring to a simmer.

6. Stir in the pulled chicken and bring to a simmer. Cook until the chicken is heated through, adding more barbecue sauce or broth if necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

7. Serve in taco shells with any additional toppings.