Juicy chicken kebabs with andouille sausage grilled and then smothered with a homemade cherry bourbon bbq sauce! This is the one recipe you’ll need this summer!
Actually maybe he did but I bet you he wasn’t using Cherry Bourbon barbecue sauce with Tabasco Chipotle Sauce.
This post is heavy on the photographs, but easy on the eyes.
It’s enticing to the appetite and sticky on the fingers. Everything you want from barbecue.
I was thrilled when I was asked to be one of Tabasco’s Tastemakers this year. Hot sauce has always been my thing and I add it to almost everything I eat. I was whisked away to Louisiana and plonked down in the middle of Avery Island, the home of Tabasco and where it all began.
I could go on and on about how amazing the trip was but I’ve already stolen time from you to look at my gazillion pictures. But I need to let a few things be known. The people at Tabasco were gracious and generous to the point I wanted them to keep me.
The company is still family run and is steeped in history from the days of the 1800’s when it was founded by Edmund McIlhenny. I stayed at Marsh House filled with paintings and history worthy of being in a museum. Funnily enough, Tabasco actually have their own museum on site which you can visit when you take the tour.
Let’s look at some pictures.
Chicken Kebabs drenched in a Cherry Bourbon Barbecue Sauce, with Tabasco Chipotle for a smoky flavor. Every summer I’ll make homemade bbq sauce using some kind of fruit and it totally works!
It turned out sweet and tangy with a deep red cherry color. To keep with a Southern Louisiana taste, I added thick slices of cajun seasoned andouille sausage and Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. Oh and I threw in some Jack Daniels too and it’s still kid friendly because the alcohol gets cooked off. Score!
These are the three most popular varieties of Tabasco sauce. Original, Green and Chipotle.
We were taken deep into Tabasco with John Simmons as our guide. John is the son of CEO Tony Simmons and Manager of Agriculture for the company.
You can grab lunch at the Tabasco plant. This was Shrimp Étouffée, Gumbo and Red Beans and Rice. The Étouffée was of the charts good.
Fried Pork Crackling, should be named “I can’t stop eating this crunchy pig-crack”. Yup, addictive is the only word to describe this.
We were treated to some spicy cocktails from Nick Detrich, owner of Cane and Table, New Orleans.
Tabasco in cocktails…do it!
Traditional Boudin Sausage made by Legnon’s, a New Iberia butcher. Pork and rice in a sausage casing never tasted so good.
Louisiana I miss you, and your fried alligator, colossal piles of crawfish and genuine Southern charm.
This post was sponsored by Tabasco, and as a Tabasco Tastemaker compensation was provided.
Cherry Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
For The Sauce
- 2 cups ketchup
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2/3 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup Coca Cola
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite bbq rub
- 1/2 cup Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Jack Daniels
- 4 cups dark red cherries with stones removed
For The Kebabs
- 1-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 large Andouille sausage
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot add the ketchup, vinegar, sugar, Coke, Worcestershire sauce, rub, Tabasco Chipotle Sauce, Jack Daniels and cherries.
- Mix to combine and bring to a boil over a medium heat.
- Turn the heat down to low and let simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the sauce has thickened carefully transfer it to a blender.
- Blend the sauce until it has no lumps. Set aside.
- Chop the chicken into small pieces for the skewers taking off any big pieces of skin or fat.
- Slice the sausage into pieces about 1 inch thick.
- Cut the peppers into squares about 1 inch.
- Take a wet skewer and push a piece of sausage to the bottom.
- Add a piece of pepper next followed by some chicken and sausage until you get to the top of the skewer.
- Don't overload the skewer or it will take too long to fully cook.
- Preheat the grill to high.
- Place some of the bbq sauce into a small bowl and brush the loaded kebabs with the sauce covering well.
- Place each kebab onto the grill and sear.
- Turn after a few minutes and repeat brushing with more sauce. Turn down the heat or move the kebabs to an indirect heat part of the grill surface to save them from burning.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked serve each kebab with rice.
Just beautiful, Gerry! Love the recipe, the words and photos about our lovely trip. (Also, sorry I totally photo bombed that last photo!!) ;)
Thanks Brooke! Photo bombs are always okay ;)
Your photos are absolutely beautiful! I can’t wait to try these. Pinned!
Yowza! That sauce looks amazing and the kebabs look incredible! I simply love your photos!
Thanks Alida, I appreciate it!
Ohmygoodness, Gerry! Everything about this recipe sounds wonderful!!
Thanks Brenda!!
Spicy sweet. Exactly how I like my meals from the grill and my men. :) Your photos from the trip are gorgeous. Simple. Easy on the eyes. And totally meaningful. Taking lessons over here.
Ha! Thanks Heidi, I’ve learned so much from watching Foodiecrush :)
I love fruit laced BBQ sauces!! It’s a sure sign of summer! I have a strawberry honey mustard BBQ that is a go to. I’m keeping this one for later!! It looks like y’all had such a great trip!
That trip looked amazing! As do these kebabs!
It really was Carrie :)
So much to love about this post! But, really, I’m so happy to see Nick mixing up cocktails. Such a highlight from our Tabasco trip (and it looks like y’all had an amazing time too)!
I loved Nick’s creations and will for sure be making them in the summer!!
Love the combo, Gerry. Great summer recipe! I missed going on that trip with all of you guys! boo! Happy Summer!
Thanks Sandy :)
I am so glad that I got to connect with you again on Avery Island! Such a wonderful trip. And you know that I will be making these kebabs!
Yup, it was great time. Enjoy Scotland!!
Gerry you are on fire these days, literally and figuratively ;) This sauce is so up my alley I can’t stand it, the cherries, the bourbon, the heat…love it all!
Thanks Sue!!
Your photos are so inspiring and beautiful Gerry! Loved following your trip on SnapChat! I was so disappointed to turn down the trip but would love to make it one of these years!
Thanks Liz, that means a lot to me! It would have been great to have you along with us :)
Wow, Gerry. These look killer, plus your trip looks like it was totally amazing. What fun.
Those kebabs look utterly amazing, your photos are stellar. The trip looks like it was so much fun, and a great experience. I’m a huge fan of the Original but I’ve never seen the Green. Now I must hunt it down till I find it. I’m super intrigued by it.
Your photos are amazing! I need to have those chicken kebabs in my life!
This looks so so good!
Thanks Melissa!
Thank you for posting this recipe. We live in Wenatchee, WA where the trees are teeming with fresh, delicious cherries and we are always looking for creative, delicious ways to use them. I am wondering about preserving the Cherry Bourbon BBQ sauce so that it will last for months. Any thoughts on the best way to do that?
You could try canning it or just store it in jars and keep it in the fridge like me. :)
!
Cherries are one of my absolute favorites! So worth all the cherry pitting that’s involved! Love these spicy cocktails! I could eat these every day of my life.
I will start by saying I absolutely love this recipe, and will be making again. I do feel I need to mention though, the passion expressed when writing about Tabasco is a very similar passion I have about whiskey. As such I would suggest either changing the name of the recipe to be a cherry whiskey barbecue sauce, or change the whiskey used to an actual bourbon. It is an insult to Kentucky when you refer to Jack Daniels as bourbon. Jack Daniels does not meet the requirements to be called a bourbon.
Hey Jake glad you like the recipe and my apologies for messing up on my liquor! I didn’t know and will definitely make adjustments!