Nightshade-free cherry BBQ sauce: the summer barbecue sauce built from fruit

Standard barbecue sauce is built on tomato paste, Worcestershire, and chili-based spices, the full set of what this protocol sets aside. Most store-bought versions labeled 'clean' still carry paprika or nightshade-derived ingredients somewhere in the list.

This sauce gets its color and body from cherries instead. Three cups of pitted cherries, cooked down with onion, garlic, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar, give you the same sweet-tangy depth a tomato base once delivered. Cherries are a source of vitamin C and anthocyanins, plant compounds studied for their role in supporting a calm inflammatory response. The smoked sea salt pulls the flavor further in the barbecue direction without relying on nightshade spices.

Fresh or frozen cherries both work here. Frozen is often more practical and equally good. Make a batch in summer when cherries are at peak, freeze it in half-cup portions, and pull it out through the fall and winter. It will be there waiting.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups pitted cherries, fresh or frozen, halved
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp smoked sea salt

Method

Warm the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to turn golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.

Add the cherries, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and smoked sea salt. Stir everything together and bring to a low simmer. Cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the cherries have broken down and the sauce has thickened and darkened.

Let it cool slightly, then transfer to a blender and blend until completely smooth. For a finer texture, pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. Taste and adjust: more maple for sweetness, more ACV for tang, more smoked salt for depth.

Yield: About 2 cups.

How to use it

• Brush over chicken thighs or drumsticks during the last 10 minutes of roasting
• Use as the sauce for slow-cooker ribs or pulled pork
• Spoon over pan-seared salmon or pork tenderloin before serving
• Mix into ground turkey or chicken before forming meatballs or patties
• Spread on a cassava tortilla in place of salsa

Storage

Refrigerator: up to 1 week in a sealed glass jar. Freeze in half-cup portions for up to 3 months.

*Adapted from autoimmunewellness.com/nightshade-free-cherry-bbq-sauce/ by Mickey Trescott*