How to Make Cranberry BBQ Sauce

It's sort of like Christmas in July. Looking for a special edge for the next BBQ? Make them sit up and take notice with this tangy BBQ sauce made with Cranberries-the tartness of the cranberries and the smoky flavor of chipotle peppers, mixed with just enough sugar and spices to make this a sweet and savory delight! You’ll get lots of compliments with Sweet Daddy D’s no-angst recipe for Cranberry BBQ Sauce.

Cranberry BBQ Sauce

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Here’s What You Need

To get that nice, smokey flavor we start off rendering the bacon grease from some thick smoked bacon slices. The base of the sauce is sweet onions, garlic, and whole cranberries-either fresh or frozen. The sweet comes from high molasses dark brown sugar and the savory comes from chili powder, sweet smoked paprika, ground cumin and chipotle in adobo sauce. We get the acid from fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and apple cider vinegar. All of this will simmer together in some rich beef stock. Don't forget the beer.

Ingredients for Cranberry BBQ Sauce

Here’s What You Do

First...you have a beer. The angst is removed by being prepared. Pour a cold brew, have some wine or chant your mantra...whatever puts you in the right frame of mind. Read the recipe from top to bottom and make sure you have everything-that's how your mise en place begins.

Mise En Place

Chop the bacon and set it aside. You can chop the onion, garlic and the chipotle pepper very fine or place them separately in a food processor and give them a good chop. You want everything very fine while retaining any juices they give up. Set all of them aside. Next measure out the cranberries and set them aside-it's not really necessary to defrost the frozen cranberries, but it doesn’t hurt. Zest the lemon, then slice it in half and squeeze the juice out of one half. You can combine the chili powder, sweet smoked paprika and cumin along with the lemon zest all in one small bowl, then put the brown sugar in another bowl. Measure the apple cider vinegar into a ramekin and set it aside then measure the beef stock into a measuring cup. Now you’re ready to go...have yourself a swig or two of beer.

Fry the Bacon

Use a heavy bottom dutch oven over medium high heat to fry the bacon pieces until the are getting crispy and have rendered out all their grease.

Render some bacon grease!

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Saute the onions and garlic

Remove the bacon pieces from the dutch oven, but leave the bacon grease, then throw in the onions. (Nibble on these while you cook-it's the chef’s treat!) Stir the onions constantly until they begin to clear and brown just a bit on the edges. Toss in the garlic and stir that around for a couple of minutes until the aroma is wonderful.

Saute the onions and garlic

Add in the aromatics

Now it's really going to be smelling good.  Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin and lemon zest to the onions and garlic and stir very well. Let these roast for a few minutes before we add wet ingredients. By doing so, we really coax out those flavors.

Next, come the spices!

Add in the cranberries and chipotle

The cranberries and the chipotle pepper can go into the pot at the same time. Add a pinch of kosher salt and let these simmer-the cranberries will start to give up their juice and pop open a bit. As they get softer, smash them with your spoon. We’ll be running an immersion blender through everything before too long so don't worry about going crazy with the smashing.

Whole cranberries and chipotle peppers

Add in the acidics and the sugar

Now that the cranberries are simmering along, add the lemon juice and apple cider. Mix that all together completely and toss in the brown sugar. Bring all that back to a simmer, cover the pot and let it keep going for another 10 minutes or so, stirring frequently so the sugar doesn't burn.

Brown sugar, vinegar and lemon juice

Time for processing

Turn the fire off and let it cool for about 5 minutes. It’s good to do this in two phases if you have the hardware. Run an immersion blender (I have this one!) through everything to breakdown all the whole cranberries. It will have the consistency of a thick paste at this point. How’s your beer? Now, it's time to work the mix, in batches, through a food mill’s finest sieve-this is the food mill I use and love! When that’s all done, return it all to the Dutch oven-make sure you catch all the goodness that is sticking to the underside of the sieve. Check out the Hints and Tips below if you don't have those things. 

Add the stock

Start with about half of the beef stock and blend it together completely. Add more stock until you have the consistency you desire. You can go over two cups if that's what it takes.

Blend in the stock and let it simmer

Simmer down the home stretch

Return the sauce to a slow simmer, stirring frequently, adding more beef stock until it's how you want it.  When you’ve reached that point, turn the heat down very low, cover the pot and let it go for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.  If you end up making it too thin, just simmer it with the lid off...no worries.

Let it sit and meditate

Remove the sauce from the heat and give it a taste. Add more salt and more of the spices if you think they’re needed  Let it sit there and meditate about what it means to be such a tasty sauce for about 10 minutes, then it's ready to go.

There you have it!

That's it, all there is to it.

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Hints and Tips

• If you can't find frozen or fresh cranberries, you can use canned cranberry sauce (not the jelly, but the one with the whole cranberries in it).  I’ve done that many times and it’s good. Use two 15 ounce cans but remember there are other ingredients like sugar in the canned sauce, so you should consider the amount of brown sugar you use. Maybe start with 1 cup, then add more after tasting, if desired.
• Cranberries are a Superfood with disease-fighting antioxidants, but let’s face it, they are very tart. Just adjust the amount of brown sugar to counter the tartness.
• This recipe was developed using about ¼ ounce of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce-that was 1 pepper.  It’s not very spicy, so to increase the heat, add more.
• Use a food processor to prep the onions, garlic and chipotle pepper. You want them as fine as you can get them.
• If you do not have an immersion blender, use a potato masher or large wooden spoon to smash the cranberries, or you can add them, as is, to a blender or a food processor.
• If you do not have a food mill, a blender or food processor works very well. Make sure to process the sauce until smooth.
• If you don't have any of those toys, well...chunky BBQ sauce is very good too!!
• The final consistency of the sauce will depend upon the amount of beef stock or beef broth you add. You may use more than two cups of stock to get the consistency you like....that's OK!
• To make this vegetarian, substitute olive oil or vegetable oil for the bacon grease and vegetable stock or broth for the beef stock.
• The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week or frozen for a couple of months.

Don't forget these other no-angst recipes that are just right for the BBQ:

Brussels Sprout Slaw

Darn Good Baked Beans

Editor's Note: This is the first recipe I’ve developed in the new Sweet Daddy D Test Kitchen and Cultural Research Institute. The photos were taken in the First...you have a beer Studios. All new digs...we have been waiting for them for a long time. You’ll be seeing more great things come from here...stay tuned!

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Yeah You Right!

Cranberry BBQ Sauce

Try something just a little different at the next BBQ. This BBQ sauce is sweet and savory and sets itself apart by combining the tartness of whole cranberries and the smokiness of chipotle peppers. Your family and friends will wonder where this delicious sauce came from and ask for it time and time again.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberry BBQ sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 32 Servings

Calories: 64kcal

Author: Sweet Daddy D

Here's What You Need

• 3 slices smoked bacon cut into 1”
• 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 4 cups cranberries fresh or frozen (see Notes)
• 2 cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup chili powder
• ¼ cup sweet smoked paprika
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin
• zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ Lemon
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce finely chopped (about ¼ ounce)
• 2 cup beef stock or broth see Notes
• Kosher salt to taste

Here's What You Do

• Fry bacon until crispy in a cast iron dutch oven over medium high heat, until the fat has rendered.
• Remove the bacon from the pot, but leave the bacon grease, and add the onions.
• Saute the onions, stirring almost constantly, until clear and the edges are just starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and stir until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
• Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin and lemon zest. Stir to combine all the ingredients and simmer together for about 2 minutes.
• Add the chopped pepper, the cranberries and a pinch of salt, stir completely to mix all ingredients.
• Add the vinegar, lemon juice and brown sugar and stir well for a couple of minutes, until all the ingredients are combined.
• Lower the heat to a simmer and cover for about 10 to 15 minutes, while the cranberries break down. Stir occasionally.
• Remove the dutch oven from the heat. Using an immersion blender, reduce the whole cranberries into small pieces. The sauce will have a thick, paste like consistency at this point. (see Notes)
• Let the sauce cool slightly, about 5 minutes, then process through a food mill set with its finest disc. Remember to scrape off the bottom of the disc and return that with all the processed sauce to the dutch oven. (see Notes)
• Place the dutch oven over medium high heat and mix in the beef stock, starting with about 1 cup. Stir to blend together, adding more stock until you reach your desired consistency.
• Reduce to a simmer, cover and allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more beef stock to thin out the sauce, if desired. (If you need it to thicken, just simmer without the cover)
• Turn heat off and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Fresh or frozen cranberries are very tart, but the amount of brown sugar can be adjusted to your taste.

Canned cranberry sauce can be substituted for the whole cranberries-use two 15 ounce cans. There are other ingredients in the canned sauce, so you should consider the amount of brown sugar you use. Maybe start with 1 cup, then add more after tasting, if desired.

Use a food processor to chop the onions, garlic and chipotle pepper. You want them as fine as you can get them.

This recipe was developed using about ¼ ounce of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce-that was 1 pepper.  To increase the heat, add more.

If you do not have an immersion blender, use a potato masher or large wooden spoon to smash the cranberries, or you can add them as is to a blender or a food processor.

If you do not have a food mill, a blender or food processor works very well. Make sure to process the sauce until smooth.

The final consistency of the sauce will depend upon the amount of beef stock or beef broth you add. You may use more than two cups of stock to get the consistency you like....that's OK!

To make this vegetarian, substitute olive oil or vegetable oil for the bacon grease and vegetable stock or broth for the beef stock.

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 163mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g