My Cherry Habanero BBQ Sauce recipe is a sweet and spicy sauce perfect for grilled chicken or pork.
I’m sure everyone has had one of those weeks. I’ve had one of those weeks, maybe too. Can’t seem to get anything accomplished and cooking sounds like work. Not good when you are a food blogger. Then our refrigerator goes out on Tuesday. In truth, it has been dying a slow death since February. I am just to cheap to buy a new one until it is completely broke. Well there was no doubt that it flat-lined on Tuesday. “Hey (No Name Company) should a compressor die after 8 years?” When you open up the freezer at 6:00 am and the ice cream is soft and when you touch the fridge, it is hot: you have a problem. I don’t make big decision easily, so trying to find the best appliances and price became a full-time job the past few days. But of course the new toys can’t be delivered until next Tuesday. Lucky I have a second fridge in the garage and a full size freezer in the basement.
So I didn’t lose any items, but it is very inconvenient to not have a working fridge in the kitchen. Hence I didn’t want to cook this week. Kids have cereal for dinner.
I had purchased two packs of chicken tenders, at Krogers, on Sunday. I also had pork tenderloin and swordfish in the fridge to cook this week. I had room in the freezer for all but the chicken tenders, so I had to cook them sometime this week. I also had two bags of cherries that would not fit in the garage fridge. So I came up with this recipe for Bacon Wrapped Chicken Fire Sticks on Tuesday and finally cooked it last night. At least the family had one descent meal this week.
I made the Cherry Habanero BBQ Sauce using my homemade habanero jelly. I canned/processed around 40 jars in April and will be doing a new batch soon. I also tried my hand at mustard using habanero. As you can see I like habanero peppers. Even though they are very hot, if used correctly, they have a great flavor with a nice heat. If you are interested in purchasing jars of either the jelly or mustard, please send me an email and I will discuss the details.
Okay back to the recipe… I also noticed that I have way to many sauces in my fridge. For this Cherry Habanero BBQ Sauce I use my pepper jelly along with some habanero sauce I purchased in Chicago and some Sweet Baby Rays. I also use two must have kitchen gadgets to make this sauce. An Immersion Blender and a Cherry Pitter. I use the imersion blend when I make soups, and sauces. I love it. The cherry pitter I guess is not a must have but it does come in very handy when you are using fresh cherries.
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- 1 teaspoons ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Use a bbq sauce of your choice or ketchup
- 1/2 cup Honey Habanero sauce (substitute with hot sauce such as franks)
- 1/2 cup orange Juice
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbs habanero jelly pepper jelly will also work, Optional
- 16 oz fresh pitted cherries chopped (can also use (16 oz bag frozen pitted cherries, thawed, chipped), about 2 cups
- 1/2 cup water
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add onion, and garlic, saute until onion is soft and translucent.
- Stir in ancho chile powder, and smoked paprika, toast for 1 minute.
- Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Stirring often.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Puree with an Immersion blender until smooth. .
- Use 1 cup of sauce to baste the Bacon Wrapped Chicken Fire Sticks
- Serve grilled chicken with remaining sauce and fresh cherries. Would also go great with pork.
First published by Quinn Caudill for DadWhats4Dinner.com ©2015
Please join me and bring your recipes and DIY projects to Throwback Thursday’s every Thursday at 7:00pm est.! 
I also will be bringing my Cowboy Bark recipe to Freedom Fridays, Friday Favorites, Fiesta Friday, Weekend Potluck, What’s Cooking Wednesdays. Checkout my Link Parties page for other great places to find new recipes.
Angie says
I love the recipe, Quinn! I really think you have a winner here. You should enter this to a BBQ sauce contest! 🙂 I probably will sub the habanero, though. Not sure I can manage the heat! 🙂
Quinn Caudill says
It really isn’t that hot in moderation. My habanero jelly is great served over cream cheese with crackers. Yum. Email me and I will send you a sample. Happy FF! :))
Angie says
Seriously?!
Quinn Caudill says
Of course
David Cearley says
I live in Texas and pepper jelly with cream cheese on a ritz is to die for!
Quinn Caudill says
Oh yeah. Nothing better! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
CakePants says
This sounds delicious! I love combining cherries with spicy foods. This BBQ sauce won’t last long in my house, I’m sure!
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks. It will not last long here either. Have a great weekend. Happy FF!
Lili says
Your sauce looks delicious Quinn! And with cherries and spicy too! Yum! Something tells me being in Spain does not make shipment of your sauce to me very easy.. 🙁 Which means I’d have to make it! 🙂 Sorry to hear about your appliance woes.. hope it’s all sorted soon! And thank you for co-hosting this weeks Fiesta Friday!!! Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks Lili… Yeah, unless you buy a case probably be a little to expensive to ship. Just starting this venture so I need to fine tune my process. Thanks for stopping by Fiesta Friday #72. Send me an email for the recipe. Have a great weekend and Happy FF!
Lili says
Am happily visualising a case of the sauce Quinn but will restrain my instinct to buy! Can I just use the recipe up on this post…? Thanks and happy FF to you too! 🙂
Quinn Caudill says
The recipe on the post is for the cherry habanero bbq sauce. I haven’t posted the recipe for the habanero Jelly yet. Any pepper jelly would work for the BBQ sauce. Yeah you would need to have plenty of friends to hand out that many jars of Jelly. :))))
Jhuls says
Yay! So excited for you, Quinn. Glad to know that you are co-hostin. Have fun! 🙂
This looks so delish, btw. My mouth is watering now. I need somebody make some BBQ for me. 😀
PS: I can relate with the ‘bad days’ and yes, that is not good when you are a food blogger.
Happy FF!
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks. Happy to be asked to co-host. You are a veteran.. New appliances come Tuesday. Might be eating out his weekend. Happy FF! :))
Sarah 'n Spice says
What a fantastic recipe! My husband would love this! I had my fridge go out a few months back so I feel your pain.
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks Sarah. And of course my wife had to replace all the appliances. Uggh! Have a great weekend. Happy FF!
J Seaton says
If you’re working with a large batch of cherries, a pitter is an absolute necessity. My foray into cooking started last year with baking actually, and specifically, a cherry pie. Trying to pit a pie worth of cherries with chopsticks and straws takes all the joy out of the process. This looks very tasty, by the way. I’d never heard of a cherry bbq sauce before, but it sounds delicious.
themigrantchef says
Gorgeous looking BBQ sauce!! I love habanero, and you’re right …the oils in the peppers give a beautiful layer of flavor that isn’t overly hot if used properly. I find anything sweet will tone down the kick for anyone too sensitive. I recently acquired a bottle of jolokia ghost pepper sauce with warning labels all over the bottle and I have to say it is hazardous. Though I think combining it in a BBQ sauce could really be something special.🔥😝
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks Andrew. Yeah I don’t get eating something so hot it hurts. I like heat that compliments the recipe. Jalapeno are ok but I don’t care for the flavor.
Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says
This looks and sounds amazing! Love the use of cherries
Giramuk's Kitchen says
I love Fruity and spicy sauces!! i have never tried Cherries so I am so curious to try this out! Its such a beautiful deep dark red that I know I’ll be thinking about until I can try it out! 😀 Another awesome recipe to try out this summer!
carolinescookingblog says
The sauce looks and sounds delicious! Like the sound of cherry and chili together. Glad you managed to save everything from the fridge – sadly we wouldn’t be as lucky as no back up!
Sandhya says
Love that color too! I love the fruit and spice combination! I can relate to you as my refrigerator decided to call it quits and am waiting for my new refrigerator to be delivered. Luckily I have my old fridge in the garage…so getting some extra steps walking to get every little thing:)
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Great recipe, never seen a bbq sauce with cherries in it, but it sounds delicious!
Quinn Caudill says
Sweet and hot. Goes great with chicken or pork. Thanks for stopping by
deliciouslynell says
Yum!
Ginger says
It sounds amazing! What a pity I don’t live in the States … Thank you so much for co-hosting this week’s FF, I’ve been so bury I just couldn’t find the time to say hello. How’s your first time as a co-host? I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
indusinternationalkitchen says
This looks great Quinn. Oh my what a great idea to combine cherry and habanero into a bbq sauce! This looks wicked good! 🙂 And thanks for being a co-host at FF this week!
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks and I enjoyed it. It has been a busy week and I just finished my duties for FF! I grilled some pork chops yesterday and use the sauce on them with great results. Thanks for stopping by Indu. Have a great week.
dishofdailylife says
That sauce sounds delicious!! I’m always nervous to cook with habaneros, but I am thinking now I might just give it a try. You’re inspiring me!
Quinn Caudill says
Just be careful working with them. The oils can burn the hands and other body parts. :)))
Sherry says
This looks so amazing! It’s featured this week on Funtastic Friday. Thanks for linking up and sharing with us. Join us again this week:-)
Quinn Caudill says
Awesome thanks Sherry. I will be there