A refreshing blueberry margarita that is perfect for summer as well as a beautiful festive drink for the holidays. Features Vivian Howard's blueberry "Blue Q" sauce combined with freshly squeezed lime juice, Cointreau Triple Sec, and Don Julio Tequila Blanco.
There once was a BBQ sauce that dreamed of becoming a margarita. Everyone raised a skeptical eyebrow but the BBQ sauce didn't mind and continued to pursue its dream.
It wasn't long before word began to spread that a new margarita was in town. Then everyone raised two eyebrows cuz HOLY MOLEY that BBQ sauce margarita was darn tasty.
This blueberry margarita is actually the result of some crazy tasty barbecued chicken, PBS TV, and talented chef and restaurant owner Vivian Howard.
Vivian Howard is my chef inspo. And I absolutely LOVE her show A Chef's Life. From her active participation and strong values for sourcing local and sustainable foods to her creative and ingenious dishes, her ability to open a restaurant while juggling marriage, motherhood, and life with twins, being an active and involved chef in the cooking/foodie community all while publishing a cookbook and sharing her personality and thoughts through the best and worst of times in her career all while in front of a camera she is a force to be reckoned within the food community. And she makes a mean Blueberry BBQ Sauce (aka Blue Q Sauce).
After learning about Vivian's Blueberry BBQ Sauce on an episode of her show, I've been dying to try it out. A surprise trip to Kinston, North Carolina for a birthday dinner date at Vivian's restaurant, Chef and the Farmer, brought me miles closer (thank you hubby, you know me so well ☺️) to the origin of the Blue Q.
I'm convinced that I need to live next to Vivian's restaurant so I can go to it for all of my birthdays and then convince her that we should be mom friends who cook together every day. Totally not weird, right? Yes? No? Maybe? Check a box.
Vivian, if you're reading this I'm a total fangirl, but not a crazy one. Really. And I love your restaurant. And your TV show. And in all of my mid-thirties birthday excitement, I left your restaurant without remembering to buy a bottle of your Blueberry BBQ Sauce. Can we still be friends?
But when all else fails, just Google what you are searching for and you're bound to find it, like Vivian's epic BBQ sauce recipe which she has so kindly shared across multiple websites. I had a Snoopy & Charley Brown happy dance moment.
I roasted a chicken smothered with Vivian's Blueberry BBQ sauce and it was dreamy and sweet and delicious. Exactly what I was hoping and dreaming it would be. And maybe I ate some of the sauce by the spoonful while the chicken was cooking. And maybe the sauce secretly whispered to me that it wanted to be in a drink too, and not just on chicken.
Since it would be sort of weird to tell you I think you should put BBQ sauce in a mixed drink and since I'm totally NOT weird like that (I promise Viv I'm not...may I call you Viv?), I'm not going to say that I think you should put BBQ sauce in your drink. Instead, let's just call it a blueberry shrub. It sounds fancy and you might impress people with your mixologist terminology.
So let's add some shrub to our drinks and raise up our Blueberry Margaritas for a toast. A toast to talented chefs that inspire and a toast to never looking at BBQ sauce the same again. ♡
Frequently asked questions
To ensure that your drink is gluten-free make sure you purchase tequila that is labeled "100% agave." Some cheaper brands of tequila contain gluten and will be labeled as "mixto" versus "100% agave." Cointreau Triple Sec is naturally gluten-free as it is made from the distillation of sweet and bitter orange peels and blended with natural alcohol, sugar, and water.
If you were to compare a margarita made with high-quality alcohol and one made with cheaper alternatives, you would definitely taste the difference. Don't go through the effort of making this drink to wind up disappointed. Stick with the ingredients suggested in the recipe.
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Print📖 Recipe
Blueberry Margarita
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 margaritas 1x
Description
A refreshing margarita that is perfect for summer as well as a beautiful festive drink for the holidays. Features Vivian Howard's blueberry "Blue Q" sauce combined with freshly squeezed lime juice, Cointreau Triple Sec, and Don Julio Tequila Blanco.
Ingredients
Vivian Howard's Blue Q Sauce
- 3 cups blueberries
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar, divided
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1⁄4 teaspoon chile flakes
- 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
Blueberry Margarita
- Kosher salt for the rim of the glass (optional)
- Lime wedge
- 1.5 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 1.5 oz. Cointreau Triple Sec
- 4 oz. Don Julio Tequila Blanco
- 2 tablespoons Blue Q Sauce
- Ice
Instructions
Vivian Howard's Blue Q Sauce
- Place blueberries and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar in a food processor and pulse just until the berries are broken up.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the pulverized berries with the remaining vinegar, sugar, chile flakes, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and then cover the pot. Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf from the sauce. Carefully transfer the hot blueberry sauce to a blender. Blend the sauce to get it as smooth as possible. Vivian Howard recommends passing it through a fine-mesh strainer before returning the sauce to the pan but I omitted this step. It's up to you what you would like to do!
- Simmer the sauce over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced by about one-third of its original volume (25–30 minutes). It should coat the back of a spoon and have the viscosity of maple syrup.
- Let the sauce rest, at least overnight (if you can wait that long), before using. The Blue Q sauce will keep for months, covered, in the refrigerator.
Blueberry Margarita
- If you prefer a salted rim, rub a fresh lime around the outside edge of your margarita glass. Then roll the rim of the glass in the Kosher salt.
- Place the glass in the freezer to chill while you prepare the drink in your cocktail shaker.
- Add the Blue Q Sauce, fresh lime juice, Cointreau Triple Sec, and Don Julio Tequila Blanco to the cocktail shaker. Remove your margarita glass from the freezer so it's all ready for the drink to be poured into it. Add a handful of ice to your shaker, seal the shaker, and shake vigorously for several seconds.
- Using a small fine-mesh strainer, strain the ice cubes in the shaker out while you pour the drink into your glass to get a nice clean texture for the drink. Garnish your drink with a lime wheel and a frozen blueberry. Cheers!
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use or recommend.
One thing to keep in mind when you purchase your margarita ingredients is that your drink will only be as good as the weakest ingredient in it. It's important to keep that in mind should you decide to use something else besides whole Kosher salt, fresh lime juice, or premium alcohol options such as Cointreau and Don Julio Blanco Tequila.
To ensure that your drink is gluten-free make sure you purchase a tequila that is labeled "100% agave." Some cheaper brands of tequila contain gluten and will be labeled as "mixto" versus "100% agave." Cointreau Triple Sec is also naturally gluten-free as it is made from the distillation of sweet and bitter orange peels and blended with natural alcohol, sugar, and water.
Serving size and preparation time are for the Blueberry Margaritas and not for the Blue Q Sauce.
- Category: Drink
- Method: Pot, Cocktail Shaker
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Keywords: margarita recipe, blueberry margarita, gluten-free cocktail recipes, drink recipes
The Blue Q Sauce is adapted from talented chef and owner of Chef and the Farmer Vivian Howard's Blueberry BBQ Sauce recipe. Learn more about Vivian's story on the origins of the Blue Q Sauce and her recipe. Vivian's Blueberry BBQ Sauce is also available for purchase.
Disclaimer: All brand recommendations are purely my own opinion. I am in no way sponsored by the brands mentioned or compensated by any brand for my recommendations. This post may also contain affiliate links which I may receive a small commission from (without any additional costs to you). The money earned from these commissions helps me to maintain this website. Thank you for your support!
Ellen
Vivian is awesome. Her sister is a friend of mine! So lucky you got to her restaurant. I so want to go but it's a long way from where I am in Florida.
Shannon
Oooh, I may have just become slightly jealous that you have that Vivian sister connection...And yes, I felt VERY lucky to be able to go to her restaurant being that I live in the Pacific NW. That hubby of mine definitely caught me off guard with that bday present! I hope some day you are able to make your way up to NC to experience it yourself.
Claire
What a delicious combo! Love it!
Monica Le
I could use one of these right about now. Yum!
Sara
Shannon. These sound AWESOME. My boyfriend and I are margarita fiends, and finding something different and super interesting is so much in our realm of interests. I'm so glad I found this! Thank you!
Shannon
Thank YOU Sara! I hope you and your boyfriend enjoy! Cheers!