The middle of the summer hits and I am on the lookout for cherries!! Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, they were plentiful and we used to sit on the porch with bowls of the fresh fruit! I am so excited this year as the price of cherries went down to $2.99/lb. How sad is that? I remember growing up when we picked them for FREE! Since the price was reasonable this year, we made our Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce and are excited to share it with you!!
Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce – Super Simple Barbecue Sauce[/caption]
🍽️ Instructions
Step One: Let’s start by pitting some cherries. A cherry pitter is only a couple bucks and well worth the money and makes the job much easier! You will need 3-4 cups of pitted cherries.
Step Two: Add them to a pan on the stovetop along with rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Step Three: Once the sauce is boiling, pour it into a blender and allow to cool. DO NOT PUT LID ON WHEN IT IS HOT! I waited about 15-30 minutes for it to cool before blending. A food processor will work as well.
Step Four: You can use the sauce immediately or store it in the fridge for up to 1 week. Letting it refrigerate will thicken the sauce.
🥃 Recipe Tips
We added just ¼ cup of KO Distillery Bar Knuckle bourbon as we boiled the sauce. It will burn off the alcohol and add an additional sweet taste that complements the cherries.
Alternatively, this sauce is just as good (don’t tell Jason) without the bourbon! Taste it before you add the bourbon and then see if you want to add it.
Easy Homemade Cherry Bourbon Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Onions diced
- 2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3-4 Garlic cloves
- 1 cup Ketchup
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Bourbon
- 3 cups Cherries pitted, sweet
Instructions
Prepare on the Stove
- Heat oil in pan and sauté onions and garlic for three to four minutes. The onions should turn transluscent.
- Add honey, brown sugar and ketchup and heat to a boil. Continue to stir.
- Add bourbon slowly.
- Add cherries and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
Blend the BBQ Sauce
- Remove from the heat and allow to fully cool. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Add the sauce to a blender or food processor and mix well. Make sure to let it cool before attempting to blend.
- Pour into jars to serve.
Nutrition
