Recipe - Black Cherry Barbecue Sauce
3/4 cup black cherry soda
1 can Bing cherries (17 ounces), packed in water, drained
3 Tbsp cherry preserves
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
Put the cherry soda, cherries, cherry preserves, lemon juice, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and 3 Tbsp of the wine in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer gently for 5 minutes. Put the remaining 1 Tbsp wine and the cornstarch in a small bowl and stir to form a slurry (thick paste). Whisk this paste into the cherry sauce.
Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat to thicken, about 1 minute. Taste for seasoning, adding more sugar or lemon juice to adjust the sweetness and salt and pepper to taste; the sauce should be highly seasoned. Serve warm or at room temperature.
The sauce can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week. Let return to room temperature or warm over medium heat before serving.
Yields: 4 servings (serving size: 1⁄2 cup of sauce)
Freebies: 2 G&S, 2 Fat
Calories: 180 (29% from fat); Fat 5.8g (sat 3.6g, mono 2.2g); Protein 1g; Carb 32.7g; Fiber 1.5g, Potassium 159.5mg, Sodium 61.8mg, Calcium 19.7mg