You Say Mangoes And I Say Mangos

If you’re looking for a new sauce for your barbecues this weekend, I have a doozy - a  Mango Honey Barbecue Sauce. The great thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. Use it as a marinade before you start cooking or brush it on as a glaze WHILE you’re cooking. I have also used big spoonfuls of it on top of chicken or salmon AS it cooks (which is more sauce than glaze). OR you may serve it as a sauce after the food is cooked.

It’s good on chicken, pork, shrimp or fish. Really everything…well, maybe not beef, but you might feel differently. This recipe started out as part of Bobby Flay’s Grilled Red Chile-Buttermilk Brined Chicken With Spicy Mango-Honey Glaze recipe. The first time I made it, I said Eh! to the chicken but Ahhh! to the glaze.

I had just seen Giada grilling salmon in a stove-top grill pan and two things occurred to me. Number One - I HAVE to make more use OF my stunning, lime green, square Mario Batali grill pan.  

AND Number Two - I hated what Giada was putting on top of her salmon – a sun-dried tomato BUTTER. Don’t sun-dried tomatoes belong with olive oil? I can’t imagine that butter would taste good with them and I wasn’t going to ruin perfectly good butter OR sundried tomatoes OR salmon finding out. SO…this glaze seemed like just the thing for my salmon.

About the mangos (do you write mangos or mangoes – I think both look weird, so I’m going with the one with fewer letters), Bobby said to use THREE. I used two – 1 big red one and 1 slightly smaller yellow one. (They’re called champagne mangos.)

That was a good idea because it gave me the opportunity to do a taste test then and there of which mango I preferred. OMG, there isn’t even a question. The yellow one was packed with a wonderful sweet flavor that had strong tart overtones. The big red one may have been juicier, but it tasted flabby in comparison. It’s funny because I had always thought of the yellow ones as much sweeter. Perhaps they are, but they also have that citrus edge which makes them perfectly balanced. Those will be the ones I shop for from now on.

You all know how to cut a mango. Cut the fruit down on either side of the pit, so you end up with 2 almost half ovals of fruit. Cut a cross hatch into each half with the knife going down to, but not through, the skin. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the flesh from the skin. They come out already chopped! But you still have some fruit clinging to the pit. Peel off the skin and cut it away from the pit and then chop it.

Bobby uses Chile de Arbol powder which I didn’t have. I didn’t feel like adding cayenne, which is its common substitute. I decided to go with a bit of smoky flavor and add some chipotle in adobo sauce instead. I chopped one piece (thankfully not too well) and added it in. It was WAY too hot. Luckily, as I was cooking the glaze I could fish out a lot of the chipotle. It ended up perfectly spiced – on the hot side, but not obnoxiously so.

Also, I cooked the sauce differently than Bobby did. He wanted the pineapple and orange juices added after the mango had been cooked in the wine. I’m guessing he wanted to keep the brightness of the uncooked pineapple juice and fresh orange juice. Oh well. The first batch was just too thin and I had to reduce it. I ended up using less wine and juice in the first place and cooking it a bit before I puréed it.

One more thing. Bobby called for 3 tablespoons of honey. I know it’s in the title of the recipe, but that’s way too much…or at least 33% too much. I was happy with 2 tablespoons. And if you feel the need to measure your oil at the beginning of the recipe, keep that tablespoon for the honey. It comes off the spoon like a dream. 

Bobby’s and My Spicy Mango Honey Barbecue Sauce (makes a generous 2 cups)

Printable recipe here.

1 tbl. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled, center stalk removed and chopped

1/4 piece of chipotle in adobo sauce

1 large reddish mango

1 yellow or champagne  mango

1/4 cup white wine

2 tbls. pineapple juice

2 tbls. orange juice (Bobby says fresh, but let your conscience be your guide.)

OR use ¼ cup of just one of those juices - your choice

2 tbls. honey

Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium low heat. Stir in onion. Raise heat and stir until you hear a sizzle. Cover pan, turn down heat to low and let cook until softened at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and chipotle and cook for 2 minutes. (My favorite method is to leave the chipotle in one piece just to flavor the onions and then take it out before adding the mango. OR you can take it out before puréeing, if you want it hotter. Hotter still? Purée it with the mango and take your chances.)

Cut mangos as described above. You should have about 2 cups. (See NOTE below.) Add chopped mangos to the softened onion. Bring to a sizzle over medium to medium low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, uncovered. Stir in wine and juices and cook for another 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Process in food processor with honey. Use it at room temperature as a marinade or glaze. And/or heat it gently and serve it as a sauce.  

NOTE: If you only have one mango, you can make up the difference with chopped peaches, apricots or even nectarines. OR just substitute any or all of those fruits, if you don’t like mangos.