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 be sure to try my:
- BBQ Sauce
- Big Mac Sauce
- Tartar Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Curry Ketchup
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Romesco Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Aji Verde Sauce
- 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!
Can you use brown sugar instead of white sugar? And tomato paste instead of tomato sauce? safe for canning?
Hi Genna, yes you can use brown instead of white. Tomato paste is concentrated so if you use that use 1/2 cup tomato paste and 1/2 cup water in place of 1 cup tomato sauce. Yes, you can water bath can this.
This is a three star rating because it is only the beginning of a great BBQ sauce. Something is missing that could or would send it over the top. This is where personal preference enters into finishing the sauce. My wife and I found it just OK for chicken but quite good on burgers, brats and smoked Boston Butt (without altering the recipe.) It needs your tweaking to achieve five star level.
What about swapping apple cider vinegar for balsamic?
Hi Kat, yes that’s no problem. Happy cooking!
Did you use sweet or sour cherry’s for this BBQ sauce?
Hi Lori, I used sweet cherries.
Just finished canning 14 quarts of this with about 35 lbs of cherries. I omitted the salt and added a BBQ rub that I love. It’s perfect! Thanks for the recipe.
Wonderful, Vikki, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
OMG.
Best BBQ sauce ever! Thanks for sharing this recipe, Kimberly! The only change I made was I eliminated the sugar. Probably not something everyone would eat, but I encourage you to try it. It’s a very different experience.
Awesome recipe!
Thank you again.
Awesome, Eric, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you! Next time I make a batch I’ll set some aside without the sugar.
Oh yummy yummy!how delicious is this bbq sauce. Had some on chicken mayo sandwich yummy. Its very spicy my husband loves it that way i am considering reducing the heat for the next batch …maybe…and upping the garlic i thought of reducing the sugar but in reality so little is used maybe it wouldnt matter
Fantastic, Ailsa, I’m so glad you both like it, thanks for the feedback!
Well it’s cherry season again and time to make another batch! I just got 10lbs for $10.00 on sale here. It came out to about 25 cups pitted. I got everything in order now it’s time to get busy as I only have a few pints left from last summer.
Fantastic, ricrocs! Awesome deal on the cherries. Getting ready to make another batch myself :) Have a terrific summer!
Made about 2 gallons ,very tasty. And it really helps to have got a pitter this time as using a paring knife is the pits!
The cherry BBQ sauce from American spoon Foods is one of my favorite things EVER! I can’t wait to try this so I don’t have to order it from Michigan!
Hey Nikki, I haven’t tried that one but I hope you enjoy this recipe! Thanks for stopping by!
Made this last week exactly as your recipe stated and it was delish! It was so good and cherries were on sale so I made a gallon more of it with a slight change, added a little pure maple syrup, a couple of different chili powders, as I like a little more kick. Canned it and passed some around to friends and they want more, so I now need to get some more cherries and get busy, good thing there’s still cherries around for a little while. Thanks!
Fantastic! I’m so glad it was a hit and YES, this sauce really makes a great gift. Thanks for the feedback!
Can you change the fresh onion to dehydrated and still can in water bath? Or do I need to increase vinegar or add 1 Tbsp lemon juice to a pint or 2 Tbsp to quart? Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Hi Debbie, I’m honestly not sure if/how making that substitution would affect the pH level or safety factor for canning purposes.
Hi Kimberly, got the wild sour cherries and mixed them with some black cherries and few red plums and the BBQ sauce was so good!!! your recipe is a keeper and I am sorry that I found it at the end of the season… until next year, thank you
Wonderful, Maritta, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Hello Kimberly, thank you for an amazing recipe! I preserve black cherries, bing cherries and sour cherries together, I mix sour cherries with rum and sugar and leave them in the sun to make a drink and use them in my “BACHELOR’S JAM”!!! By accident I found your post while I was looking for a cherry and damson chutney and now I have an amazing BBQ sauce!!! even though the season is at an end, I might find some more to make another batch this week before we move to peaches, someone has promised me 2 kilos of wild sour cherries to mix with cherries, see if she comes through. The only thing I changed from your recipe when I tripled it is that I put in the pot 2 parts cherries and one part sour cherries. Like I said, amazing, thank you very much!
Wonderful, Maritta, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Finger-licking good! I made a double batch, one to can and one to use over the next couple of weeks. Delicious, thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that, Celeste, thank you!
I’m craving this right now! Got some ribs that this would be amazing on!
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! :)