They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Bourbon, cherries, and the chance to use his smoker makes my husband a happy man!
On top of that, tomorrow is National Bourbon Day 2024, so let's celebrate with this luscious smoked bourbon cherry sauce.
Inspiration for this recipe is owed to Traeger Grills. They suggested that this recipe would go well with vanilla ice cream. However, we think it goes well with our Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream. You can, however, top any good quality vanilla ice cream with this luscious sauce. I did add less sugar and more smoke and bourbon to suit our tastes.
The ingredients are simple: fresh black cherries, sugar, water, bourbon, and optional maple syrup. If you don’t have a smoker, you could still BBQ but add some smoking chips to the grill. Smoking adds complexity to the flavors that are difficult to replicate. I would not suggest using liquid smoke.
Smoked Bourbon Cherry Sauce Ingredients
Fresh Cherries are Best
Cherries are best when fresh and in season. This recipe is perfect for summer when black cherries are fresh, tasty, plentiful, and affordable! You could probably use frozen berries, but I would thaw first and discard some of the water. You may need to simmer a bit longer at the end to reduce the liquid in the sauce.
Don't Omit the Sugar
Sugar is key for a sauce to thicken it, otherwise the sauce will be runny because there's not enough sugar in the cherries. If you like a sweeter sauce, you could increase the amount of sugar. I suggest you taste mid-way and adjust as you see fit. I did add a little maple syrup at the end to increase the ‘syrupiness’ of the syrup, but this is optional.
Mmm, Bourbon
The final ingredient is bourbon. I would not suggest you use your top-shelf bourbon, as it adds to many other flavors versus being the star of the show. We added more bourbon than the Traeger recipe suggested by about a third, so adjust as your tastes prefer.
Put the cherry sauce in a small jar as the perfect hostess gift. Build a gift basket around this tasty treat with an ice cream scoop and some dessert bowls. Enjoy!
How to Make Smoked Bourbon Cherry Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Pit the black cherries. You can find a basic cherry pitter online for a couple of dollars. Or cut the cherries in half and dig out the pits. Make sure you go carefully (no one wants to bite on a pit).
Put cherries on a shallow baking sheet or a cast iron pan. Make sure you stir the cherries if they are not in a single layer to maximize smoke flavor.
Smoke for 60 minutes (stirring occasionally).
Remove from smoker and transfer to pot if necessary to cook on the stove top.
Add one tablespoon of water to the pot (do not double if doubling the recipe). Stir in sugar.
Simmer for about 20 minutes until sauce is syrupy and reduced.
Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon. The syrup will thicken as it cools.
Refrigerate in a sealed container or put in small jars for gift giving.
Serving Suggestion
This sauce is fantastic as a topping for vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. It would be wonderful served on top of cheesecake. You could even have it at breakfast, served over plain or vanilla yogurt.
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