Cherrywood BBQ & Ale House on Kiawah Island, SC and a recipe for Cherrywood Signature BBQ Sauce
And in the end it’s not the barbecues in your life that count. It’s the life in your barbecues. – Abraham Lincoln
A chef originally from Maine making Southern barbecue that is truly outstanding…really?! We were pleasantly surprised when we visited Cherrywood BBQ & Ale House in the Osprey Point Clubhouse on Kiawah Island in April at Chef Jason Cote’s request. So surprised in fact, I decided to devote a whole article to the exceptional food created at this restaurant on beautiful Kiawah Island.

Osprey Point Golf Course
We can get pulled pork and baby back ribs all day long living in the South. The style differs depending on what part of the South you are in. Wet or dry ribs. Chopped, sliced or pulled pork. Sweet, vinegar, tomato, mayonnaise or mustard based sauces are some of the differences between the regions. Even upscale restaurants offer their version of these Southern favorites. While BBQ dishes are not something that we choose to order out or prepare at home often, I have a few recipes for some pretty mean pulled pork and baby back ribs that I rely on when the craving for BBQ strikes.
While we were with Chefs Jason Cote and Brian McGowan visiting Ambrose Farm and Cherry Point Seafood, Jason asked us to visit Cherrywood BBQ to experience his food. Our schedule was tight, but we decided to stop by for a brief visit. Just a few minutes later we were sampling a platter of some of Cherrywood’s house specialties including mouthwatering Heritage Farms Pork Shoulder, amazingly moist and tender Overnight Beef Brisket, Collard Greens as good as anyone’s Momma makes and Four Cheese Mac that knocked our socks off. Twice.
It took all of our will power to leave that plate of BBQ to head off to another appointment. On our dash out the door we yelled back to Jason, “Save that food. We’ll be back as soon as possible.” We made our next meeting but have to confess that Jason’s BBQ was on our mind. As soon as that meeting was over we immediately headed back to enjoy more of Chef Cote’s impressive BBQ favorites. This time he included a platter of perfectly smoked pork ribs and a gorgeous Pork Belly Salad with an Asian twist served with Red Beet Eggs and Pickled Vegetable Salad.
A perfect accompaniment to many of these dishes are some of Cherrywood’s house made BBQ sauces: Kiawah Vinegar Sauce, Governor’s Mustard Sauce, Cherrywood Signature BBQ Sauce, Fire Roasted Onion Sauce, Fire Sauce (a hot and spicy BBQ sauce), and Maple Chipotle BBQ sauce for Chef Cote’s version of wet ribs. Jason makes the hot sauce in house which is the base for their Fire Sauce. A new addition to the sauce menu is Ghost pepper and Ginger Sauce. He says, “I like to mix it up and play with the flavors.”

Chatting with Chef Cote
The concept for Cherrywood BBQ replaced the more standard golf clubhouse burger and beer restaurant in this space last year and now people line up for lunch and dinner to enjoy these very special dishes prepared by this guy from Kennebunkport, Maine. Who knew?! Of course, burgers are still on the menu and I imagine they are pretty tasty as well.
Jason Cote, the Chef de Cuisine at Cherrywood BBQ & Ale House, has been at Kiawah Island Resort since 2008. A graduate in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management, Cote has spent 16 years traveling from his hometown of Kennebunkport to South Carolina by way of California where he catered big budget movies. He went on to work as a private chef on a yacht in Florida. His resume also includes two impressive local restaurants including Magnolias (Charleston, S.C.) and the Kiawah Island Beach Club. Not bad gigs if you ask me. 😉

It gets pretty smoky in Chef Cote’s smokin’ room
OK..since Kiawah Island is on my bucket list, Cherrywood BBQ & Ale is on my buckets and buckets of ribs list! I’ll also take that pork belly salad and the Ghost pepper and Ginger Sauce actually excited me lol I’m definitely bookmarking and making Jason’s sauce. Northern boy or not, that’s some good lookin’ BBQ! If I ever opened an eatery of any sort, I’d fly you over just so you could give it one of your amazing reviews (even if you didn’t like it, right? ;D)
Hi Lisa,
I would definitely be on a plane, train or driving in a car to come and chat with you about your restaurant when you open one and that just might happen. I am thinking fabulous desserts…and I am sure you would deliver. 🙂
I prefer not to do restaurant “reviews”. We were so impressed with Chef Cote’s food at Cherrywood, we decided to feature it because his BBQ was exceptional. I do hope you head South at some point to visit and we can show you lots of great places to nosh!
Gwen
Wow! Your culinary adventures have you eating the best food America has to offer! Thanks for sharing it all with us! And although I surely may never get to Kiawah Island, I can and will make this fabulous sauce! I love – no WE love bbq and are always on the lookout for the best. Making this sauce at home may not be quite the same as what you were lucky enough to eat….but I will settle for it. Scrumptious!!! And can I just say that bbq may be the one food we miss the most not being in the US – and we always make it a point to eat as much as we can when we get back. Great post, Gwen!
Good BBQ tips, and, I’d love to try that sauce this summer!
the color of those eggs…stunning! i want a dress like that…made from eggs, please.
I just ate at the Cherrywood and had the most magnificent bison ribs! I thought I detected bourbon but maybe it was beer and coffee. OMGoodness–just superb! I tried to ‘dissect’ the mac-n-cheese. I think, along with the four cheeses, there was cilantro, mustard seed, and maybe basil? What spices do you think was in the mac-n-cheese?
Hi Jan,
I’m glad you enjoyed your meal at Cherrywood and the bison ribs. It has been some time since we ate there, so I can’t remember the specific seasonings in the Mac and Cheese. I just know that the flavors were excellent. Chef may have also changed the recipe up a bit, so what we had could be slightly different from what you were served. Chef Jason may be willing to share his secret if you ask him nicely. 😉
Gwen