Canning Cherry BBQ Sauce | A Homemade Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Canning cherry BBQ sauce is an excellent way to preserve the cherry harvest. As a matter of fact, there is nothing quite as delicious than a homemade cherry BBQ sauce. Well, other than a cherry chipotle BBQ sauce.

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July announces the arrival of cherry season and BBQs, which means summer has finally arrived!

We’re a bit of a snobby bunch when it comes to our BBQ sauce.  Don’t judge.  How could we not be since a large percentage of our summer meals are grilled? 

Because of this very reason we took to making and preserving our own sauce. There is nothing better than homemade cherry BBQ sauce. Actually, there is, cherry chipotle BBQ sauce. And man, is it ever delicious!

Once you’ve lathered this cherry BBQ sauce onto pork ribs, chicken, or pulled pork you’ll know why I sing its praise.  It is truly that delicious. 

After all, what’s better than a finger licking, all over the face, get-into-my-belly kind of wonderful?

With this in mind, the key to making this sauce perfect is selecting the right kind of cherries. Which is why using Bing cherries a must. This variety of cherries is easy to come across since they are readily available throughout the summer months.

Homemade Cherry BBQ Sauce

If you’re buying BBQ sauce at the market, stop. In other words, don’t purchase a pre-made sauce, it’s simply a glorified ketchup. To clarify, nothing compares to this homemade cherry BBQ sauce.

This recipe is extremely easy to make and is ready to consume now, or canned to enjoy throughout the year. Let me warn you though, nothing, absolutely nothing, is better than opening a jar for a winter grilling session. 

One final warning, this sauce does have a slight kick to it. Just a slight kick. 

It’s also tangy, yet, sweet in flavor. Oh goodness, y’all are going to have to give this a try, and once you do you’ll quickly realize that it doesn’t disappoint!

We are lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest, otherwise known as, the land of amazing cherries. The cherries we consume, (actually, devour) come from a group of Northwest Cherry Growers who strive to produce a fruit which is meaty and packed full of flavor.

Because of this we’ve been able to preserve some pretty delicious cherry foods:

• Cherry Salsa
• Brandied Cherries
• Cherry and Raspberry Cordial – alcohol included
• Easy to Make Cherry Juice with a Steam Juicer
• Delicious Chunky Cherry Jam

The Sustainable Canning Course

Are you searching for canning classes near you? Look no further! The Sustainable Canning Course is a self-paced series of online classes designed to help you on the road to achieving food ownership.

The Sustainable Canning Course is an extension of my book, The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving the Harvest. I wrote this book to help guide those who seek to own their food source the opportunity to do so. It is a comprehensive, easy to understand book covering all methods of home food preservation, canning, drying, fermenting, curing, freezing, and storing fresh foods.

• Understand why pressure canning is necessary to preserve foods.
• Confidently alter or create recipes to be canned.
• Preserve many tomato products utilizing scientific information with traditional tools.
• How modern canning tools, such as the steam canner and steam juicer, revolutionized preserving methods.
• Understanding how to decipher information shared by the National Center of Home Food Preservation.
• Discover how easy it is to can meat, fish, soups, and stews.

These topics and many more are available within The Sustainable Canning Course. Reserve your spot now, and begin gleaning the necessary information needed to preserve foods as a modern sustainable homesteader does.

Canning Cherry BBQ Sauce

Home canned cherry chipotle BBQ sauce holds its flavor and texture quite well. And there is nothing quite as delicious as smoked chicken lathered in this homemade sauce.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Bing Cherries, pitted and roughly cut
• 1 cup White Onion, diced
• 2 cloves fresh Garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup Molasses
• 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/3 cup Lemon Juice, bottled
• 1 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder, more for flavoring
• 3 tbsp Kosher or Pickling Salt, optional
• 1/2 tsp Cheyenne Pepper, more for flavoring
• 2 tsp Dry Mustard
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika, more for flavoring

Equipment

• cherry pitter
• steam canner or hot waterbath canner
• non-reactive pot, copper jamming pot, stainless steel pot, enamel dutch oven
• air bubble remover
• mini slow cooker
• 6 pint size mason jars

Canning Homemade Cherry BBQ Sauce

Over the Stove

1. Pit fresh Bing cherries and roughly cut into smaller pieces
2. Dice white onions and fresh garlic cloves
3. Using a non-reactive pot combine all ingredients. Allow to cook on medium high heat for 20 minutes with lid on. Stir often to prevent scorching. Cherries should be soft in texture when done
4. Using an immersion blender, puree the ingredients until smooth
5. Continue to boil on low with the lid off until the mixture has reduced to half, or desired consistency has been met.

Canning

1. Funnel completed BBQ sauce into pint size jars
2. Wipe rims, apply warmed lids and rings
3. Process in a hot water bath or steam canner for 15 minutes
4. Remove jars from canner and allow to cool for 12 hours
5. Once cooled, check that jars have vacuum sealed. Unsealed jars will need to be refrigerated and used as quickly as possible.

My Book

The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving the Harvest is a comprehensive book covering multiple methods for preserving foods in the comfort of your home. Learn how to safely can, dry, ferment, cure, freeze, and store foods fresh as a sustainable homesteader would. The tips, tricks, and recipes within this book will provide you the confidence and knowledge needed to own your food source.

Printable Recipe

As mentioned, this recipe can be consumed fresh.  Though canning cherry BBQ sauce, especially a large batch, is the most convenient thing to do.  Purchasing a large amount of cherries in bulk will allow the harvest to be preserved for a the fraction of the cost.

Continue to Content

Yield: 5 half pints

Canning Cherry BBQ Sauce

Print

This cherry chipotle BBQ recipe is one that will be enjoyed throughout the year, even into long winter months. The recipe is delicious and can be used fresh or preserved using a hot water bath or steam canner. 

Ingredients

• 3 lbs Bing Cherries, pitted and roughly cut
• 1 cup White Onion, diced
• 2 cloves Fresh Garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup Molasses
• 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/3 cup Lemon Juice, bottled
• 1 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder, more for flavoring
• 3 tbsp Kosher or Pickling Salt, optional
• 1/2 tsp Cheyenne Pepper , more for flavoring
• 2 tsp Dry Mustard
• 2 tsp smoked paprika, more for flavoring

Instructions

1. Pit fresh Bing cherries and roughly cut into smaller pieces.
2. Dice white onions and fresh garlic cloves
3. Using a non-reactive pot combine all ingredients. Allow to cook on medium-high heat for 20 minutes with the lid on, stir often to prevent scorching. Once done the cherries will be soft in texture.
4. Using an immersion blender, puree the ingredients until a smooth texture is achieved. 
5. Continue to boil on low with the lid off until the mixture has reduced to half, or desired consistency has been met.

Canning

1. Funnel completed BBQ sauce into pint size jars.
2. Wipe rims, apply warmed lids and rings
3. Process in a boiling water bath or steam canner for 15 minutes
4. Remove jars from the canner and allow to cool for 12 hours. Once cooled check jars to ensure they have seal, any jars which have not sealed should be placed in the refrigerator and used quickly.

Notes

Full detailed information on how to utilize a hot water bath and steam canner can be found on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.

This is not a tested recipe pulled from the NCHFP site, but instead a canning recipe which falls into the guidelines of a safe item to be canned.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

5

Serving Size:

1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

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In addition to the other recipes, try these delicious cherry treats:

• Creamy Cherry Clafoutis
• Chocolate-Cherry Black Forest Cake
• Rhubarb Cherry Wine

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