To the Sauce Gurus: Making Home-Made "CheriYaki" Sauce

[TasunkaWitko]

The Beautiful Mrs. Tas isn't a very big fan of many things when it comes to barbecue - she normally takes it as it comes, and it's either "OK," or she doesn't like it - there isn't much middle ground.

But one thng she really does like, is something that is available locally, called "CheriYaki" sauce. Naturally, it's based on teriyaki sauce, and also has a nice, prominent shot of cherry in it, with a little more garlic than normal teriyaki sauce. I am sure that some of you are familiar with it, and it is available on Amazon.com, if anyone is interested in trying it:

http://www.amazon.com/World-Harbors-...pr_product_top

It's quite tasty, and extremely versatile; We've had it on beef, pork, chicken, fish, hamburgers, hot dogs, venison - you name it, and it will probably go good with CheriYaki. It works very well as a marinade, baste or dipping sauce.

The problem with it, though, is that it is, well...store-bought, which means that, like many store-bought things, it suffers from a lot of artificial ingredients and/or food additives, as well as an abundance of "filler," in this case, sugar. I want to come up with a home-made CheriYaki sauce for her.

My first instinct is to make a home-made teriyaki sauce; I have a good, tried-and-true, reliable recipe, and so does Hoser, and can add a little extra garlic, so that part is covered.

The issue, then, is adding the cherry. I'm thinking that cherry juice, reduced to double-strength or possibly even to "molasses" might do the trick. Combine the two at a 50/50 ratio, thickening it as necessary, and then see what we have. From there, I can adjust the ratio.

Another option might be Cherry jam or preserves, with teriyaki sauce.

First question - has anyone made anything similar? if so, would you care to share the recipe?

Second question - if not, does it at least sound as if I am on the right track?

Any feedback, ideas, discussion etc. is most welcome.

Thanks in advance -

Ron

[Biteme7951]

No experience with making this but sounds interesting. What about using cherry juice concentrate? I know that they pack the juice of about 1000 cherries in a 16oz bottle of the stuff so you wouldn't need much of it in a sauce.

Barry.

[TasunkaWitko]

Hi, Barry -

That sounds like a good idea, and then it can be sweetened to taste, if necessary.

I believe our local health food store has concentrated black cherry juice ~ it's also theraputic for gout (I wish I didn't know that, but - painfully - I do).

[PitRow]

I have a recipe for cherry-bourbon BBQ sauce, I haven't tried it yet so I have no idea if it's good or not.

It calls for 1/4 pound of fresh bing cherries, pitted. Combine those with 2 shots of bourbon and cook it until the cherries are mushy and the liquid is almost gone, then blend and add the rest of the ingredients.

Might be a good starting point to go from. Maybe use cherry juice instead of bourbon. Once you have the cherry base, add the rest of the teriyaki ingredients to it?

[Mark R]

I have a recipe for cherry-bourbon BBQ sauce, I haven't tried it yet so I have no idea if it's good or not.

It calls for 1/4 pound of fresh bing cherries, pitted. Combine those with 2 shots of bourbon and cook it until the cherries are mushy and the liquid is almost gone, then blend and add the rest of the ingredients.

Might be a good starting point to go from. Maybe use cherry juice instead of bourbon. Once you have the cherry base, add the rest of the teriyaki ingredients to it?

Oh hell Pit, let him throw the bourbon in too!

[smc51]

this sounds interesting and I'll be watching it progress.

[PitRow]

Oh hell Pit, let him throw the bourbon in too!

lol... I would leave it in for sure. But I'm not sure it's the flavor profile Ron's going for

[RowdyRay]

Well, I haven't tried to make a teriyaki sauce with cherries, but do like Darrin's Cherry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce. That calls for a combination of jam and juice.

My brother has a ton of Nanking cherries. Makes everything from syrup to jam to pies...you name it. He also boils them and presses the juice out with the Enterprise. Cooks some of the juice down to a molasses too. Uses it as a flavoring in lots of things. I'm lucky enough to get some of this juice and use it to make the BBQ sauce. In return, I give him a few jars of the BBQ sauce.

If you're trying to avoid the sugar, then stay away from the jam or preserves. Cherry molasses, just like apple molasses, provides an intense flavor without any solids or unnecessary sugar. I'd highly recommend this route. If you make your own, just make sure it's real juice. No "concentrate" or "Juicy Juice".

Trial and error is your best bet. Let us know what you come up with.

[TasunkaWitko]

I had a big mess of CSRs to deal with yesterday, so I tried what I will call a Japanese/Hawaiian fusion that resulted from my "cheriyaki"" experimentations.

I wanted to concentrate on the sauce, so I kept the ribs themselves simple; just a light brushing of yellow mustard and a modest coating of barbecue rub, The sauce was my primary concern, so I then turned my attention to that project, which I expect will definitely need a little evolution.

Just to get my feet wet, I combined a bottle of Kikkoman "Teriyaki Base and Glaze" - which is a pretty good thickened teriyaki sauce - with a small jar of Polaner "'All-Fruit' Cherry Preserves. This was actually pretty good, and might have served well on its own as a cheriyaki sauce; but it didn't make much sauce for 4 long trays of country style ribs, so I also added two cans of crushed pineapple, maybe a quarter cup of honey, and a couple of healthy splashes of ponzu. After zapping it all around with my wand blender, then simmering it down slowly for a couple of hours, I had something rich, thick and with a good amount of umami. It was a success in that it was pretty good, but it needed ... something. I'm thinking that If I would have added some orange juice and let that simmer with the sauce, concentrating in order to add a sour element, it might have been just about right, but that's just a guess.

[chefrob]

have you tried dried cherries? simmer them in a little water and and blend them till smooth......cherry flavor....thick.....and not very sweet with good acidi value. i use this for savory cherry sauces for pork or lamb.

[TasunkaWitko]

g'morning, rob -

the thing i mentiooned above was just a "dry run" to see if the concept is even worth pursuing - and it definitely is! your dried cherries sound like a good way to go. cherries are hard to come by around here (except in the summer), so i'll have to see about ordering some or waiting until summer when the flathead cherries come in, and then getting a bunch of them. i also want to try a few other cherry projects as well ~

thanks for the suggestion!

[smc51]

http://www.cherrybayorchards.com/che...te/bottle.html
Try this site.

[TasunkaWitko]

looks like a great site ~ i've bookmarked it! thanks!

[curious aardvark]

I combined a bottle of Kikkoman "Teriyaki Base and Glaze" - which is a pretty good thickened teriyaki sauce - with a small jar of Polaner "'All-Fruit' Cherry Preserves

lmao - in what way is that making your own ?

Like the idea and having spent saturday producing a rather excellent peach bbq sauce, fruit and bbq is a great combination.

Just bear in mind the dried cherries do have added sugar. But they work great in a number of recipes.

[TasunkaWitko]

in what way is that making your own

Alex - I was just saying that my objective was to get my feet wet and to see if it could be done! Japanese mirin and fresh cherries are a little hard to come by in the wasteland where I live, so before I throw out 40$ for a sauce, I'm going to make damn sure my concept is sound ~

Now that I know that it is, I can make my own teriyaki using a recipe that has served me well. I can also look over options for cherries; what kind, how to use them and so forth.

The added sugar in the dried cherries might be a good idea, actually - not much, but a little is needed, so it's all good. Another addition that the sauce could stand is a little extra garlic - it seems to work well with the profile ~

Patience, old boy ~ I'll get there!