AIP BBQ Sauce (Nightshade Free)

This nightshade free BBQ sauce is actually a really good time.

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Ingredients

• 1 bag frozen organic cherries. 600g (Splurge on the organic ones here if you can because cherries are one of the most heavily sprayed crops. They are DIRTY!)

• 1/2 cup bone broth, stock, or water

• 1 large onion, roughly chopped

• 3 TBSP fat of choice. Olive oil, bacon fat, or coconut oil are all great options.

• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 2 large, or 3 small dates. This will depend on your sweetness preferences. If you like your bbq sauce sweet you might want to add more.

• 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar or 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar. You can add more if you like your BBQ sauce to have a bit more zing.

• 1/4 cup coconut aminos

• 3 TBSP blackstrap molasses, OPTIONAL*

• 1 tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

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Instructions

1. Add cherries, stock or liquid of choice, dates, vinegar, and coconut aminos to a heavy pot and bring to a slow simmer over med heat. Stir occasionally.

2. Meanwhile heat a heavy bottom pan over med low heat. Add fat of choice and onions.

   SLOWLY cook over med/low heat for about 20 (+) minutes. This must be done when you’re already hanging in the kitchen because you will want to stir the onions often. They will release a natural sweet/smoky flavour as they cook this way and it makes a wonderful difference to your BBQ sauce experience. Add the garlic for the last 5 or so minutes.

   Slow and low friend. Slow and low. Think caramelization.

3. Add the onions and the rest of the ingredients to the cherries and cook for 10 or so minutes. Letting flavours meld together.

4. Using a handheld immersion blender pulse blend ingredients together until thick and smooth and delicious. You can also do this in your blender, just let the sauce cool a bit, or be very careful. (You can see that I left this one with a tiny bit of textures, most of the time I blend until completely smooth).

5. At this point you can add in anything extra you would like. If you want to test out adding any other herbs, or if it needs more salt or pepper do it! Is the acid level ok for you, or do you want more zing?

6. Allow to cool, then store in jam jars in the fridge, or freeze some for later use. This is a big batch.

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Tips

A note on BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES — Blackstrap molasses is the residue left after sugar crystals have been removed from refining sugar cane. Because blackstrap molasses has gone through the boiling process THREE times to remove the sugar crystals, it has the strongest flavour and the lowest sugar level, it is also the MOST nutritious of all the molasseses… that’s for sure not a word.

It contains IRON, COPPER, POTASSIUM, and trace amounts of sodium, zinc, and phosphorus. These are minerals that are CRUCIAL for optimal health and are often missing from our diet.

So, if you can tolerate a little BS every now and then, it’s a great addition to your stews, sauces, and baking.

THE SAUCE

Use this like regular BBQ sauce for all your meats and dipping and whatnot! We love it with steak, chicken, or on ribs. Yummmm.

It also goes good with scrambled eggs and hashbrowns, my super simple chicken patties (you should give those a try), and crispy sweet potato fries.

I guess what I’m saying is, we use this sauce like ketchup OR BBQ sauce. My kids love it too.

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Final Thoughts

For so long nightshades have been a challenge in my life, one that I outright REFUSED to acknowledge. Mostly because I love pasta sauce, BBQ sauce, and fresh tomatoes picked as the afternoon sun sets.

So when I was cooking strict AIP it felt like there was a hole on our plate, but also a MUCH happier gut! Because you see, I have struggled with reflux (heartburn) for AGES and it is triggered by tomatoes specifically.

Well, that’s not an issue anymore, and creating this BBQ sauce that doesn’t suck or involve beets makes me much happier about life.

Also, I will still and always enjoy a juicy ripe cherry tomato picked warmed from the sun. My gut is a much happier place now and can manage these things differently.

Thank you so much for being here, and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or thoughts.

Kindness for a million days,

Gwen