Grilling season is quickly approaching and I am getting ready by making some homemade BBQ sauces starting with this seasonal strawberry BBQ sauce. This strawberry BBQ sauce was inspired by the flavours in my strawberry and balsamic grilled chicken salad and my balsamic strawberry and chicken pizza with sweet onions and smoked bacon which predominantly feature the strawberry and balsamic vinegar flavours along with some Asian influences. I really wanted to be able to taste the strawberries in this BBQ sauce so that meant starting with a lot of strawberries and roasting them to concentrate their flavour. I like a BBQ sauce with a nice sweet side so for the sweetener I went with a combo of maple syrup and some homemade strawberry jam to add even more strawberry flavour. Up next was the balsamic vinegar for some tartness, soy sauce for the saltiness and a smoky and spicy chipotle chili in adobo. Continuing with the Asian influence I added plenty of garlic and ginger along with some BBQ sauce staples with a fresh cilantro finish. I have to say that this roasted strawberry BBQ sauce is addictively good! The strawberry flavours shine through and it has a really nice balance of sweet, spicy, tart and salty and lets not forget those sultry smoky undertones.
For my next batch I plan on adding bacon since both the salad and the pizza that inspired this dressing include bacon!
This roasted strawberry BBQ sauce is great on grilled chicken and also by the spoonful!
Roasted Strawberry BBQ Sauce
A sweet, spicy and smoky strawberry BBQ sauce.
ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries, hulled (if they are large cut them in half)
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves/jam
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
directions
- Place the strawberries in a single layer on a baking pan lined with foil folded up on the sides to capture the juices and roast in a preheated 425F/220C oven until they start to caramelize, about 15-20 minutes.
- Bring everything except the cilantro to a boil, reduce the heat, simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat, mix in the cilantro and puree in a food processor or blender or using an immersion blender.
I think is would go crazy for this bbq sauce! Roasted strawberries!! That sounds awesome! What a great idea, I can not wait to try it!
I bet this tastes amazing, Kevin!!! I love that you included strawberries. Yum!!!
This sounds absolutely amazing. Strawberries are really so much more versatile than I thought!
great sauce – I could just imagine this sauce with halloumi cheese (not that I have ever had halloumi with bbq sauce before)
Johanna GGG: That sounds like the perfect excuse for me to pick up some halloumi and try!
Have Mercy…Roasted Strawberry BBQ sauce sounds incredible!!
WOAH. Totally making this! I love my BBQ sauce a tad sweet, and usually make a peach or raspberry version, but strawberries sound incredible! Pinned!
Oh my goodness! How is this just now coming into my life!
Oooo, That looks interesting!
Kevin I never ever would have thought to use strawberries in a BBQ sauce, but it makes perfect sense.
They are naturally sweet and definitely add a layer.
All homemade BBQ sauces have layers of flavor.
Genius!
Would love to try this but my husband's stomach doesn't tolerate strawberry seeds. Do they get pulverized?
Sounds amazing! Just got a question. Do I roast strawberries with other ingredients or just boil all together?thank you
I love fruity bbq sauces and this one sounds crazy awesome! Roasting the strawberries must deepen their flavor so much!
This sounds amazing to make a chicken pizza with. I just pinned this as I will be making it very soon! Love your recipes, I have you listed as a side bar favorite on my blog 🙂 – Jill (MamaGing.com)
gee, this sounds good
Anonymous: The strawberry seeds are still going to be in there. You would need to strain the sauce through a sieve that is fine enough to catch the seeds and let the rest pass though.
Alesia Barker-Smith: You roast the strawberries and then boil them along with everything else.
Hmmm. I grew up eating strawberry jam on fried fish (walleye and northern pike we caught ourselves), which everyone thinks is weird until they try it. Will definitely be making a batch of this this weekend.
Last year I made a strawberry-bourbon bbq sauce. Such a tasty combination. I'm need to roast my strawberries this year!
We're running a trial on this over the weekend. I'm using honey instead of maple syrup, and leaving out the mustard. A friend's subbing tomato sauce for the ketchup and salt for the soy sauce. It'll be fun, cooking through cyber-space ! Can't wait to taste this.
Sounds amazing!
Kevin, do you think this is acidic enough to "can" in a water bath?
Anonymous: Yes it should be.
This sounds wonderful. It is hard to get fresh strawberries where I live overseas. Do you think it would work to thaw whole frozen strawberries, and then roast them?
Jennie: I do not think that frozen strawberry would roast all that well but you can use the frozen strawberries without roasting.
I just made this and it tastes AMAZING! I love things that hit you with a little bit of heat after you taste everything else, so the spice level here is perfect. My batch is sitting in my crock pot with some chicken breasts for pulled chicken right now!
I made this as gifts for people in my department. There's a wonderful balance of heat, sweet, and tangy/sour. The second batch came out better than the first, because I made very sure to transfer every last drop of those roasted strawberry juices that the oven cooked out into the sauce.
We are going strawberry picking tomorrow, I cannot wait to try this! How long does this last in the fridge? Does it freeze well?
Rachel Adamus: This will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and even longer in the freezer!
Do you think this would do well being canned?
henthorm: This should work well with proper canning methods.
I made this sauce today. It is SO good! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Julie K.
How long does this sauce keep or if refrigerated? Looks amazing! Cannot wait to try!
Callan Cudd: This will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and even longer in the freezer!
Just made this today! I almost can't believe anything can taste so good! You've done it again Kevin, and we thank you 🙂 Yummy yummy!
Hey:) Is there now a recipe including bacon?
Love it! I included the bacon – just can´t say no to bacon! Almost ate the whole jar for dinner and saved the rest for breaky …with baguette and goat cheese !! YUM
Cannot wait to try this, looks amazing, I will definitely add the bacon. The baquette with the goat cheese sounds like a great idea.
Thanks Kikii 🙂
Where can you find the chipotle pepper in adobe?
Anonymous: They are usually in the Mexican section of your grocery store and they will be in small cans. If you cannot find them you can replace them with cayenne for the heat and smoked paprika for the smokiness.
Made this last night. I used two chipotles because I like the spicy! It is great, can't wait to bbq it up with some chicken tonight!
Jake DeTrempe: I'm glad you like it and enjoy it on the chicken!
Sounds amazing …… Does anyone know how long the sauce will last in the refrigerator once made ?
Anonymous: It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.
This sauce is AMAZING! It's going to be the hit of our Strawberry Festival. Thank you!
Using this recipe for my sister's wedding dinner this weekend. It's a great one! Thanks Kevin!
Great sauce. Pair it with some pork ribs for an Epic win!
http://cookingwithdoyle.com/index.php/strawberry-bbq-sauce
Hi Kevin! I love a lot of what you make, but I recently have discovered new allergies. Is there a way to make this without the ketchup or peppers? I can no longer have nightshades or citrus… I’m having a hard time finding something that would work. Thank you!!!
Kim Bahr: In this recipe you can simply omit the ketchup and use more strawberries! You can also omit the chili peppers and if you want add some 'bite' with extra vinegar, mustard or even horseradish but these would be optional!
How long will this keep? Also wonder if you wanted to make a larger batch, how long you would need to process this in a pressure canner to have some in winter months.
This keeps for a few days in the fridge or a few weeks in the freezer. Please lookup the proper canning procedures for longer term storage at room temperature.