Bourbon Honey Glaze

There’s always a need for a glaze. Whatever you’re cooking, brush it on, put it under the broiler for a few. And you have this thick, yummy, topping with a bit of crust. Bourbon honey glaze is that, and some

The story

A while back I was looking to put something on my salmon. I wanted something sweet, but with a little bite. Now, I’m a fan of alcohol in and with food. I usually have wine on the table, and it makes my slow cooker beef stew taste so much better. Bourbon has that warming ability, and adds a rich flavor. I kind of dug around the internet for a while and found something to start with

The ingredients

The bourbon adds the warmth rich flavor, but more is needed. Brown sugar will crust up nicely under the broiler, and even if it doesn’t get broiled, the rich flavor will compliment the Bourbon. But this isn’t a two ingredient sauce, there’s more. Honey brings some depth to the sweetness. Garlic, well, garlic has to be in everything, I like the flavor and its good for you. Mustard for a little bite, Worcestershire sauce, well, that adds a bit of barbecue sauce flavor. It’s really good in hamburgers too. And works well as a marinate and tenderizer. It’s just an all around, good to have in the kitchen closet, type of sauce We’ll round the whole thing out with a dash of apple cider vinegar, that just helps bring all the flavors together. It’s also a tenderizer, and helps the flavors seep into the meat

Speaking of meat, what are we putting this on? Well I had mentioned salmon, but, it works on any fish. Chicken too. It has a lot of uses, kind of a go-to glaze. I should add that when cooking anything alcoholic, the alcohol doesn’t dissipate for a while, so, there’s a good chance this glaze will contain some alcohol, be aware of who you serve it too, and, what you’re drinking with it. I never mix grain and grape

The instructions

Start by pouring 3/4 cup of bourbon into a bowl. Now, this can be a bourbon of your choice. I wouldn’t use a really expensive one. First, it’s going in a glaze and get cooked, and it’ll be mixed with other ingredients. Add 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon mustard, a clove of garlic minced. And 1 tablespoon each of honey, apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and mix everything well. Pour it into an appropriate sized pot and bring to a boil over a medium heat while whisking to keep mixed and stop from sticking

Once it comes to a boil lower the heat a bit. The bourbon causes it to bubble a lot, you want it just to simmer, stirring occasionally. The intent here is to reduce the liquid by about 1/2, 10-15 mins should do. Then, pour it into an appropriate sized container to cool. Ceramic or glass only, boiling sugar is hot. As it cools it thickens a bit.

So, in this particular application I’m going to use a salmon steak that I’m cooking in my skillet. Hot skillet, skin side down for about 5 mins. Pour over some of the glaze and put under the broiler for a few, till the glaze gets a little crust, that’s it, serve and enjoy. So, what if you don’t have a skillet, or a pan you can put under the broiler? Well, cook it in the pan as usual, then transfer to a broiler tin, skin side down, apply the glaze and put under the broiler. And, finally, if you just wanted to bake your salmon, fine, just finish under the broiler for a couple of minutes before serving. There are always options when cooking. And there you have it, bourbon honey glaze, thank you and enjoy.