Fresh Cherry BBQ Sauce ~ Over Chicken & Veggie Kebobs
Jul 12, 2018, Updated Jun 30, 2025
A fabulous Basting and Dipping Cherry BBQ Sauce to make During Cherry Season! A gorgeous color with Fresh Cherry Flavor. See recipe below for Chicken & Veggie Kebobs.
A not-too-sweet Cherry BBQ Sauce for Summer Grilling
Homemade barbecue sauce is vibrant, velvety, flavorful and full-bodied
I have yet to find the perfect balance of a good commercial sauce…
Too sweet, gloppy, salty, too expensive, loaded with preservatives – and the worst is that artificial “smoke flavor” – yuck!
So, I make my own. This Fresh Cherry BBQ Sauce batch makes 3 1/2 cups.
Sounds like a lot, right? The extra can stay in the fridge for a few weeks, can be frozen, or better yet “can” in a hot water bath for 15 minutes and store some – and give a lovely gift to your friends.
Make your own: You’ll have control over the sweetness and heat. I’ve added a fraction of sugar called for most recipes and rely on the natural sweetness of Fresh Cherries. For a naturally-smokey flavor canned chipotles in adobe sauce do the trick beautifully.
Cherries are in peak season from May to August.
Method:
I cook the sauce ingredients for 30 minutes until slightly reduced – so all the flavors meld well.
The main ingredients are: sweet onions, garlic, spicy brown mustard, organic molasses, apple cider vinegar, tomatoes in juice, tomato paste, pure maple syrup, coconut palm sugar and smoked paprika. 2 1/2 cups of pitted cherries are added at the end – so that their color and texture stays bright.
All About Cherries!
- While there are several varieties of sweet cherries, the most common is Bing. These fresh cherries are quite dark – sometimes almost purple or black with an intensely sweet, vibrant flavor.
- Cherries, which are members of the same fruit family as peaches, plums, apricots, and almonds, are often regarded as a “dessert” fruit for use in pies, or perhaps as a garnish for cocktails.
- Nutrition: Cherries are low in calories, rich in flavor and nutrients, and requiring hardly any preparation. They contain pectin, a type of soluble fiber that is noted for helping to lowering cholesterol. One cup of sweet cherries has only 87 calories, provide vitamin C and good amount of potassium. The intense color of cherries is due, in part, to the pigment anthocyanins, which are flavonoids that researchers theorize may have health benefits.
- Look for: When purchasing, buy dark very firm cherries. I pinch them a bit and do not buy if they are soft – that’s an older cherry and will not be as sweet and juicy.
- Cherry Production: Turkey leads the way in cherry production, with the United States coming in a close second.Most sweet cherries are grown in Washington, California, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Enjoy this special BBQ sauce!
Karen
Fresh Cherry BBQ Sauce ~ Over Chicken & Veggie Kebobs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil*
- 1/2 cup sweet onions, peelerd, coarse chop
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh garlic, peeled, coarsely chopped
- 1 large canned chipotle pepper – in adobe, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chipotle adobe sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon molasses, organic
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar, or light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, organic
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes with juice, Pomi brand (no preservatives)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups Bing Cherries, about one pound
Instructions
Start the Fresh Cherry BBQ Sauce:
- In a heavy non-reactive pot, add oil and warm over low- medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, stir until just starting to become golden, about 3 minutes. Add the next 10 ingredients – chipotle pepper through tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a slow simmer and cover the pot.
- Cook, stirring from time to time for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, wash and dry cherries. On a cutting board, remove each pit – discard any stems. This is not difficult – use a small sharp knife, cut cherry in half, pry out the pit and discard. You will have about 2 1/2 cups of pitted cherries.
- Uncover the sauce, take off heat and cool slightly for 5 minutes. Place in a blender – whirl from low speed to high until very smooth – about 1 minute. Add 3/4's of the cherries to the carafe – puree until smooth, 1 minute.
- Add the remaining 1/4 of cherries – pulse a few times to chop – KEEP THE SAUCE CHUNKY – great with some texture. OR: chop the remaining 1/4 of the cherries on the countertop, folding into the warm sauce.
- The BBQ sauce may be hot water "canned." Or, freeze some. Will last in the refrigerator for about a week. Hint: if you puree the sauce smooth, without large pieces of cherries, it will last longer in the refrigerator.
Grilled Chicken & Veggie Kebobs with Cherry BBQ Sauce:
- For 4 Kebobs, cut 1 1/4 pounds of chicken breast (I used chicken tenderloins) into 1 1/2" chunks, marinate with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon grated garlic, 1/4 t. salt and 1/8 t. pepper.
- Thread on metal skewers (or soaked bamboo ones) with slices zucchini, yellow pepper and red onion. Add some fresh herbs… thyme leaves are nice, to the kebobs – baste with olive oil infused with some smoked paprika… adds a nice flavor and color. Grill over medium high heat – remember to oil the grates of the grill.
- Turn when very golden – cook the second side on medium – low heat so they don't dry out, until cooked through. Instant read thermometer 1160 – 165 degrees. Baste with Cherry BBQ sauce at the end, remove to a platter.
- Serve with extra sauce on the side and garnish with bing cherries and fresh herbs.
- * with concerns about gmo’s and processing of oils, use a vegetable oil which has not been chemically treated, this is called “expeller pressed.”
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
