Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cherry Barbecue Sauce

in Burgers & Sliders, Cherries, Cherries & Berries, Condiments, Crockpot, Pork, Sandwich & Wraps

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cherry Barbecue Sauce

“UUUGHHH. I hope you’re not making brownies again.”

Ugh? Brownies?

I’ve know the man for 8+ years and I’m pretty sure those two words have never been uttered in the same sentence. Who says something like that?

Other than someone who has seen a new pan of brownies on the counter every week for the last month+. Brownies with cherries that I roasted in port, brownies with cherries that I roasted in a stout, brownies with just plain roasted cherries, and brownies with just plain fresh cherries…

Maybe he had a point.

Cherry Barbecue Sauce

So I put that bag of cherries in the cart (along with 3 others) and pushed along, mumbling something about how I had plans to make a couple of savory recipes in the upcoming week.

I was totally lying, though. I had fully intended to make brownies again. But instead, I made barbecue sauce. More accurately, I semi-made barbecue sauce.

A couple of weeks ago, I shoved a bottle of barbecue sauce into the back corner of the fridge. It was harsh and vinegary. We didn’t care for it enough to use it again on its own but I couldn’t bring myself to throw a nearly full bottle away. Instead, we “fixed” it. I made a sweet cherry reduction and stirred that into the sauce, the concoction really benefiting from the addition of sweet cherries. More mellow, a little sweeter, and with nice cherry flavor, the sauce paired fantastically with a simple pulled pork for a unique twist on the sandwich.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cherry Barbecue Sauce

Pulled pork sandwiches topped with a cherry-infused barbecue sauce.

Ingredients

  • For the cherry barbecue sauce:
  • 1/2 lb cherries, pits removed
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup barbecue sauce
  • For the pulled pork:
  • 1 can Dr. Pepper (Mexican Coke and dark beer work great, too)
  • 5-7 lbs pork butt roast
  • 1/4 cup brown mustard (I use Creole mustard)
  • Sandwich buns
  • Thinly sliced red onions
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. Liberally season the pork roast with salt and pepper and place fat-side-up in the crockpot.
  2. Add the mustard and Dr. Pepper to the crockpot and turn on low, cooking for 8-10 hours until the roast is fall-apart tender.
  3. Shred the meat with two forks or pull by hand, discarding any bones and fat.
  4. During the last 30 minutes of cooking time, cut the cherries in half and then roughly chop into small pieces.
  5. Transfer to a small sauce pan with the sugar and water.
  6. Cook over medium heat for ~20 minutes, until the liquid is thick and the cherries are very soft.
  7. Stir in 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce and heat until warm. (You can also blend the sauce for a few seconds in the blender.)
  8. Assemble the sandwiches and serve the sauce over top and on the side.

Notes

Yields: ~2 cups of barbecue sauce

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 10 hours

22 comments… add one
  • I’m very intrigued by Cherry BBQ Sauce. I love cherry flavors, just not cherries, so I’m thinking this sounds up my alley!

  • that sauce
    oh that sauce sounds so darn good!

  • I’ve been fiending for some good pulled pork to, and you already know I’m constantly fiending for cherries. FTW!

  • fantastic! the cherry-pig combination is second only to apples and pork in my book!

  • What a great fix for the sauce. These sandwiches look absolutely amazing!

  • Your picture completely lured me in. The board color is beautiful and complimented the sandwich perfect!

  • Love the idea of the cherry with the pulled pork, such a great combo.

  • Oh my word, this looks delightful!! I LOVE pulled pork for the summer!

  • This is such a delicious sounding twist on bbq sauce!

  • I don’t understand this “ugh brownies” business either…but I DO understand this “swoon cherry bbq sauce” business!

  • What a great idea to cut the vinegar! I can’t imagine being sick of brownies, but this looks like a great use of cherries too 🙂

  • Oh wow. I am really intrigued by both the sauce and by the possibility of slow cooking the pork in beer. Yum!

  • I love the fact that you saved the barbecue sauce that might have gone unused otherwise. I am giving my barbecue sauce a makeover tonight. Thank you.

  • Cherry barbecue sauce is the best idea ever! I am absolutely a barbecue sauce fiend, and any new twist is like a present. Goes amazingly on the pulled pork sandwich, too!

  • I love cherry bbq sauce, and this sandwich looks amazing. I’ve been itching to make my own bbq sauce and this sounds like the perfect one to start with!

  • Julie Mestas from Fat Girl in a Skinny Body sent me your way – your pulled pork with cherry bbq sauce looks great! I was looking for a cherry bbq sauce recipe because I have a few pounds of cherries that I would love to snack on but think it’d be fun to use them in a cool recipe instead. Thanks for the idea!

  • This looks amazing! You can never have too much BBQ sauce!

  • Ooooooh my word! This looks so good. Cherry – bbq sauce? I’m totally trying it!

  • Debra Kapellakis

    You are GREAT! What a FANtastic idea!

  • Wow that sounds amazing! I love the idea of adding fruit to BBQ sauces. I’m definitely going to try this one!

  • Jen

    I am making this tomorrow for my husband and some friends. They already love my pulled pork (I make it pretty much exactly like you do, except I just use plain BBQ sauce instead of the cherry sauce) so I am expecting it to go over well. It’s also exciting for me since I am allergic to raw cherries, but can eat them if they’re cooked, so I’m always looking for good applications for cooked cherries. I will post again after I make it and let you know how everyone liked it!

  • Jen

    I really enjoyed the cherry BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce I normally use is very strong and spicy, which I like, but a little goes a long ways. The sweet cherries really helped cut the sauce but it still had that BBQ bite to it. Would definitely make again, and use the sauce for other things like chicken, too!

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