My friend Gray has a number of fruit trees in his yard; plum, persimmon, and cherry. Each season brings another delicious treat from his yard. He’s a sweet guy and (lucky for me) he loves to share.
Gray gave me a couple pounds of beautiful Rainier cherries from his tree. It’s a thin-skinned sweet cherry developed at Washington State University in the 1950s. They are lovely yellow with a red blush. Fun fact, the birds get about 1/3 of the typical harvest so you know they’re tasty.
I pickled the first batch using a recipe I’ll share when they’ve aged enough to taste.
The second bag of cherries from Gray was sweeter but I was at a loss — what to make?
Since people like barbecue sauce (tho I hate the stuff — too sweet, cloying, and catsup-y) I thought I’d try my hand at it.
It was very easy and really tasty! Lots of flavor and depth but not spicy at all. I used good quality and fresh chili powder and smoked paprika. It is sweet and does have some catsup in it but it’s not the dominant flavor.
Here’s the recipe:
Cherry Barbecue Sauce
1 # cherries, pitted
1 ea onion, chopped (medium dice is fine)
2 Tbsp (or a good glug) Olive Oil
4 ea garlic cloves, rough chopped
1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes (I use unsalted but it doesn’t really make a difference)
1/2 cup Catsup
1/2 cup sugar (if the cherries are very sweet, start with 1/3 cup — you can always add more)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (ACV)
1/4 cup molasses
dash Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp dried mustard
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
Combine all ingredients in a pot and simmer over medium heat until the cherries and onion cook. It’ll take about 30-40 minutes.
Use a stick blender (also called an immersion blender) to purée everything together. Taste and adjust seasonings. I added more salt and mustard powder.
And that’s it. This recipe yields a quart of sauce — plenty to process and share. Which is exactly what I’ll do with it because...
I hate barbecue sauce.
Eat well,
Stay Safe &
Love Big
xoxo Nancy
