Cherry Balsamic Barbecue Sauce

It is cherry season! Have you been enjoying them? When my husband was a kid he used to work on his Grandpa’s property in Utah. Grandpa Farnsworth had a couple cherry trees and the grandkids were in charge of reaping the harvest. Apparently it is hard work. Some of the grandkids still have nightmares about cherry picking. Not my husband. He loves cherries. I’ve never seen someone so talented at spitting out the pit. It must be what makes him such a good kisser. 

Sweet red cherries were on sale this week so I bought a bunch. I have to buy several pounds if I want to use them in anything besides eating them plain otherwise the hubby gets all sad and mopey. It was such a good deal that I was able to by enough to make a BBQ sauce. Oh. My. This stuff is delicious! It is sweet, with that wonderful cherry flavor. You could throw a jalapeno in the mix to give it a kick, but I kept it straight forward to maximize the ways I could use it. Whether you use it as a BBQ sauce or glaze, a sauce over some braised meat, or a dip you’ll have yourself the beautiful flavors of summer in a bright, flavorful barbecue sauce.

Are you dying for the recipe?

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups dark sweet cherries, pitted and stems removed

1 cup ketchup

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in the onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for another minute or two.

2. Stir in the cherries, ketchup, brown sugar, balsamic, worcestershire sauce, ground mustard, and black pepper.

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

4. Transfer to a blender or food processor (or keep it in the pan and use an immersion blender). Blend until smooth. 

5. Return to pan. Bring it back to a simmer and continue simmering for another 10 minutes. 

TIP: Using fresh cherries and wonder how you should pit them? I slice off the stem and then just use my fingers to pinch the pit out. It’s actually super easy and makes it go a lot faster than trying to slice off all the flesh of the cherry around the pit. 

*Recipe adapted from Backyard Living May/June 2006

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