Cherry Barbecue Sauce
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A deliciously flavorful and fruity cherry barbecue sauce you can enjoy on your grilled meats, chicken, burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and used in any recipe that calls for barbecue sauce!
What would you do with 75 pounds of cherries?
That’s what I picked up this past weekend: Three 25 lb boxes of plump, luscious bing cherries. I’ve been busy pitting and canning cherries in light syrup, making jam, making cherry sauce, cherry crisp, fruit leather, and baking Cherry Almond Streusel Cake.
With still more cherries left I wanted to try something savory. How about a cherry barbecue sauce? It sound great to me so I got to work experimenting with small quantities to get the ingredients and ratios right.
The end result: A deliciously flavorful and fruity barbecue sauce you can enjoy on your grilled meats, chicken, burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and used in any recipe that calls for barbecue sauce!
The flavor of this cherry barbecue sauce gets better with time, so I recommend waiting at least 3 days before using it to allow the flavors some time to meld.
I’ve also included instructions for canning if you want to make a larger batch for long-term storage, which is what I’m doing (I still have 25 pounds of cherries left to process!)
Cherry Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Let’s get started!
Heat the oil in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pan and cook the onions and garlic until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring it to a boil.
NOTE: Alternatively, at this point you can place everything in a slow cooker and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours. Once pureed in the blender, return the sauce to the slow cooker and continue to cook uncovered if the sauce needs thickening.
Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth.
Pour into airtight jars and store in the refrigerator. Wait at least 3 days before using to allow the flavors to meld. Will keep in the fridge for up to a month.
How to Can Barbecue Sauce
If canning, pour the hot sauce into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Process in a water bath for 15 minutes then carefully remove and let the cans sit undisturbed for 24 hours before moving them to a cool place to store for up to a year.
Enjoy!
For more delicious homemade condiments try my:
- BBQ Sauce
- Big Mac Sauce
- Tartar Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Homemade Ketchup
- Curry Ketchup
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Jerk Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Plum Sauce
- Sriracha Mayo
- Romesco Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Aji Verde
- Ponzu Sauce
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Cherry Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups pitted cherries fresh or frozen/thawed
- 1 cup plain tomato sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup granulated sugar , for low sugar alternative use sugar substitute, e.g. Swerve Sweetener, though if canning you'll need to confirm if it's suitable for that purpose)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dry ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1-2 teaspoons liquid smoke optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pot and cook the onions and garlic until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth.Pour the sauce into non-reactive air-tight containers and store in the refrigerator. Wait at least 3 days before using to allow the flavors to meld. Will keep for up to a month.
- If canning for long-term storage, pour the hot barbecue sauce into sterilized half pint or pint sized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a water bath for 15 minutes. Remove and let the jars sit undisturbed for 24 hours before moving them to a cool place. Will keep for up to a year.Makes about 4 half pint jars.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet June 27, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I live in the sub-tropics and cherries aren’t one of our crops….sadly. I love cherries. Oh that my Mother-in-law was still alive and we were at her place in Germany. She had two large cherry trees in her backyard and they were the most delicious cherries I have ever tasted. I can’t even recall seeing frozen cherries in the supermarkets….must check that out. Even when the cherries are in season around Christmas time they are expensive as they come up from the southern parts of Australia. Maybe I could make a little bit one time. It sounds so good…..
Hi Suzanne, there are a number of other fruits I think would substitute very nicely in this – apricots, peaches, plums, blackberries, etc. In fact, I think I’m going to have to give some of those a try myself! :)
Really? hummmm, well, now you have me thinking. Plums are cheap enough when in season. Blackberries, apricots and peaches are still quite expensive even when in season but I’ll have to give it a go with plums. It would be great with all our summer BBQs. Thanks Kimberly
I think plums would be a terrific choice, Suzanne. They pair well with savory ingredients. We have plum trees in our garden and one of the things I use them for is to make Asian plum sauce and it’s delicious. I’ll be posting that recipe this summer as well. Happy cooking and BBQ-ing! :)
This bbq sauce looks amazing. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I love a sweet bbq sauce! This looks amazing!
Such a detailed post again, lovely! We have a huge cherry tree and most years more cherries than the entire neighborhood can eat. My favorite way of using them in large quantities is to make cherry butter or can them. However, this year there is not one cherry in the tree, this happens every 3-4 years or so… I will pin this delicious sauce for next year.
Cherry butter, now why didn’t I think of that?? I make apple butter, pear butter, peach butter and plum butter…I’ve got to add some cherry to the mix! Thanks for the idea, Adina! :)
I looove summery cherry recipes! Can’t believe you were able to go through 75 pounds … but I totally would everything you’re mentioned making! I love the idea of using cherries in a savory sauce – I bet they add such a unique zing!
Made this Wednesday and let it sit for 3 days. Just tried it – LOVE IT!! Will make a double batch next for canning.
Fantastic, Natalie, thank you!
Canning cherries one of my favorites, maraschino, pie filling, brandied. Wish we could get them by the 25 pound box, must be a lot cheaper. I do a chocolate cherry barbeque sauce, but this one looks good. Those cherries look wonderful by the way.
What a robust sauce! Cherries in any for are great! This sauce sounds delicious!