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Smoky Black Cherry BBQ Sauce

I recently found Fire & Smoke "Smoked Cherry" barbeque sauce at the grocery store. So often the fruit flavor purported to be in a sauce is just too hard to detect, but in this case I could really taste the eponymous cherry. So I set out to make my own knock-off since the 20 oz. bottle cost me over $6.

About 2 cups of sauce
ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cup fire-roasted diced tomatoes (14 oz. can)
  • 1 cup Knudson black cherry juice
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp black pepper (finely ground)
  • 1/8 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1/8 tsp glove (ground)
  • ½ a large shallot (finely diced)
  • ½ tsp lime juice

Additionally:

  • 1 tbsp champagne vinegar
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke (I used hickory)
  • 1/8 cup Knudson black cherry juice
  1. Combine the first set of ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer for approximately 1 hour or until slightly thickened.
  2. Remove from the heat and pureé the mixture. Add the champagne vinegar and salt and return to a simmer.
  3. Add the liquid smoke and sustain a simmer for another few minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the additional cherry juice. Pureé again until smooth.
  5. Cool and bottle. The recipe should produce 2 cups of sauce.
Written by Jeff Frey on Saturday February 8, 2025
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