Cherry BBQ Sauce
intro
A sweet, smoky, tangy BBQ sauce brightened with peak-season dark cherries, ideal for glazing grilled ribs, chicken, pork, or summer roasted veggies.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep the Cherries
Rinse 340g pitted dark sweet cherries under cool running water, pat completely dry with paper towels. Roughly chop half the cherries into 1cm (½-inch) pieces, leaving the remaining half whole, then transfer all cherries to a small prep bowl and set aside.
Make the Sauce Base
Set a heavy-bottomed 2L (2-quart) saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add 180ml tomato ketchup, 67g packed light brown sugar, 60ml raw apple cider vinegar, 30ml Worcestershire sauce, 7g smoked paprika, 3g garlic powder, 2.5g onion powder, 5g kosher salt, 1g black pepper, and 0.5g cayenne pepper to the pan. Stir constantly with a heatproof silicone spatula for 2 minutes until the brown sugar fully dissolves and the mixture is completely smooth with no spice lumps.
Stir in the Cherries
Add all the prepared whole and chopped cherries to the saucepan, stirring thoroughly to coat every cherry piece in the sauce base. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a gentle rolling bubble around the pan edges. Do not allow the sauce to come to a hard, vigorous boil, as this will scorch the sugars and create a bitter flavor.
Simmer the Sauce Gently
Once the sauce hits a gentle bubble, turn the heat down to low to maintain a soft, steady simmer. Cook the sauce uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring thoroughly every 5 minutes to scrape the pan bottom and prevent sticking, until the whole cherries soften and break down slightly, and the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
Cool and Blend the Sauce
Remove the saucepan from the stovetop and set it on a heatproof trivet to cool for 5 minutes at room temperature. For a classic balanced texture, transfer half of the warm sauce to a countertop blender, secure the lid (leave the vent cap cracked and cover with a kitchen towel to release steam safely), and blend on low speed for 30 seconds until smooth, then stir the blended portion back into the chunky sauce remaining in the pan. Skip blending for a fully chunky sauce, or blend the entire batch for a completely smooth finish.
Taste and Adjust the Seasoning
Taste the cooled sauce and adjust seasoning to preference: stir in an extra 1.25g (¼ teaspoon) kosher salt for deeper savoriness, 4g (1 teaspoon) brown sugar for extra sweetness, or 5ml (1 teaspoon) apple cider vinegar for brighter tang, if desired. The sauce is ready to use immediately for glazing grilled meats, or can be stored for later use.
Tips
2.Only brush this sauce on grilled or roasted meats during the final 5-7 minutes of cooking, as its high sugar content burns quickly and turns bitter when exposed to high direct heat for too long.
3.Store fully cooled sauce in an airtight glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months; thaw frozen sauce overnight in the refrigerator before use.
OMG this cherry BBQ sauce is a total game changer! I made it for our weekend family cookout, slathered it on ribs and grilled chicken, and every single person asked for the recipe. The sweet-tangy balance is *chef’s kiss* – not too vinegary, not too cloying, and the little cherry bits add such a fun pop. Even my super picky 8 year old ate two helpings of chicken just to get more sauce!
SO good! I brought a jar of this to our neighborhood potluck last week alongside a tray of pulled pork sliders, and the whole platter was gone in 10 minutes flat. I was worried the cherry flavor would be weird for people who are used to regular hickory BBQ sauce, but nope – everyone went crazy for it. Drizzled a little on my roasted veggie bowl for meal prep this week too, chef’s kiss.
Super easy to throw together, even for someone who burns toast half the time lol. I didn’t have any smoked paprika on hand so I used regular paprika plus a tiny pinch of liquid smoke, and it still turned out amazing. Tastes way better than any store-bought cherry BBQ sauce I’ve wasted money on, will 100% be making this a pantry staple.
Has anyone tried canning this sauce? I have a ton of cherries from my tree this year and would love to jar a bunch to give out as holiday gifts, but I don’t want to mess up the canning safety stuff. Flavor-wise when I made a test batch last night it was incredible, by the way – put it on turkey meatballs for dinner and my partner said it’s the best sauce I’ve ever made.
Made this last night for my weekly meal prep, tossed it with grilled chicken thighs and roasted broccoli, and I’ve already had two coworkers ask what smelled so good when I heated up my lunch today. It’s so easy to make in 35 minutes, I didn’t even have to plan ahead – just threw all the ingredients in the pot while my chicken was on the grill. 10/10, will be in my regular rotation.
My kids loved it! I was worried the tang from the apple cider vinegar would be too much for their little palates, but the cherry sweetness balances it out perfectly. I used sour cherries from the farmers market instead of sweet ones and just added an extra tablespoon of brown sugar, and it turned out divine. We dipped our tater tots in it too, no regrets.
Quick question – how long does this keep in the fridge? I made a batch last night and it’s so good I want to make sure I use it before it goes bad, but I also don’t want to eat it all in two days (okay, I might, but still asking for a friend lmao). The recipe was so easy to follow, even as someone who’s barely learned to boil pasta this year, I didn’t mess it up at all!
I slathered this on a smoked pork shoulder I did over the weekend, and let me tell you – that cherry tang cuts through the rich, smoky pork so perfectly I almost ate half the shoulder myself in one sitting. I added a tiny pinch of cayenne for a little heat, which paired so well with the sweet cherry and tangy vinegar. 10/10, will be making this for every backyard smoke from now on.
Made a vegan version of this by swapping the Worcestershire for vegan Worcestershire and using coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, and it came out SO good! I was worried the substitutions would throw off the sweet-tangy balance, but it was perfect. Tossed it with some grilled tofu and pineapple skewers at my cookout last weekend, even my non-vegan friends were raiding the bowl for more.