Up here in the Pacific Northwest once it hits June it’s summer barbecue season. When the sun comes out or we get a break from the rain we like to fire up the grill and that means barbecue sauce! Barbecue sauce is used to marinade, to baste, as a condiment, or topping for your favorite meats, vegetables, and sandwiches. Barbecue originally started with lemon or lime juice and some seasoning, and has grown into what it is today; a whole variety of flavors and styles to choose from.
June is also cherry season, so I I make a homemade Cherry BBQ sauce that our family enjoys. This sauce can range in flavors and spice levels. You can also choose to make it super spicy or sweet. By increasing the smoked paprika and chili powder you can change the level of spice. The full recipe is at the bottom of this blog.
Making Your Sauce Shelf-Stable
If you want to make BBQ sauce in larger quantities, you will probably want to make it shelf stable. This allows you to store it in your pantry to use over a longer period of time. This sauce can be processed by using the Ball Water Bath Canning method. A couple of things to keep in mind are that jars need ¼ inch of headspace. I would recommend 15 minutes of processing time for ½ pint or pint sized jars.
If you want to learn more about canning, I have basics of home canning in this blog post.
*As of the time of this post monk fruit has not been tested for canning to make shelf-stable.
Tips for Pitting Your Cherries
Since fresh cherries are used in this recipe, they need to be pitted. Do you have an amazing cherry pitter in your kitchen already? If so, you’re all set! If not, the OXO Cherry Pitter works wonderfully. Before I had a cherry pitter in my kitchen, I used a little trick. Take an empty long neck bottle like a root beer bottle, and set the cherry on top where the hole is. Use a metal straw to push the cherry pit into the bottle. The pit should fall in the bottle while the cherry remains sitting on the rim.
Favorite Ways to use Cherry BBQ Sauce
While Cherry BBQ sauce can flavor the food and make it wonderful, using it at the wrong time can quickly ruin your meal.
When it comes to grilling, keep in mind this sauce has a high sugar content which will burn and char. However, applying it too late, will not give the flavor depth or allow the meat to absorb the flavors. A good rule of thumb is to apply the BBQ sauce in thin layers while the food is cooking. This will give you the flavor you are searching for while avoiding the char/burn taste.
Smoking is a slow and low heat process using indirect heat which minimizes the chance for sugars to burn or char. For this process, you can marinate your meat in BBQ sauce.
Cherry Barbecue Sauce
Equipment
- Immersion Blender or Countertop Blender
- Dutch Oven or Large Pan
Ingredients
- 2 T. Avocado Oil
- 2 Onions, chopped
- 6 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 6 c. Cherries, pitted (fresh or thawed from the freezer)
- 2 c. Tomato Sauce
- 2 c. Ketchup
- 2 c. Monk Fruit Sweetener (if canning, use can sugar instead)*1
- ½ c. Apple Cider Vinegar
- 6 T. Molasses
- 2 T. Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 T. Chili Powder
- 2 tsp. Ground Mustard
- 2 tsp. Onion Powder
- 1 T. Garlic
- 2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Himalayan Sea Salt (if canning, use canning salt)*2
- 1 T. Smoked Paprika
Instructions
- In a Dutch Oven or large pan, add oil, onions, and garlic. Cook until lightly browned.
- Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Using an Immersion Blender, blend until smooth.If using a countertop blender, allow to cool before transferring to the blender.
- Divide evenly among six, pint-size glass canning/mason jars. Label, date, and store in the fridge for up to one month.OR, follow the water bath canning process to make shelf-stable.
Video
Notes
- * At of the time of this recipe creation, Monk Fruit has not been tested for canning, so please use can sugar if you will be canning this sauce.
- * It is important to use Canning Salt in place of Himalayan Sea Salt if you will be canning this sauce.
Nutrition
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