Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken Paired With Peach Bourbon Breezer

Fresh peaches are a part of summer I choose to hold onto as long as they're available at the local produce stands. Roll on in fall, I love you, but I'm still making warm weather recipes. So with the last few peaches I figured I'd send out summer peach season with a tantalizing whiskey chicken dish...

and a tasty Peach Bourbon toast...

The initial inspiration for this recipe came from cruising through The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook. Yummy Yummy stuff!

I halved the recipe, used fresh peaches, added some pineapple sage leaves, left out the garlic, and made my own Jack Daniels barbecue sauce.

It's tangy from the tomatoes, spicy from the barbecue sauce, full of texture from the peaches and onion, little citrus kick from the pineapple sage, and the rich dark meat holds onto the sauce and marries with the other ingredients!

Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients For Barbecue Sauce

1/2 can chopped tomatoes, Mexican style

1/3 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon Jack Daniels mustard

1 tablespoon Raspberry Blush vinegar

1/4 cup pineapple sage Amaretto simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, bring to a boil just long enough to dissolve sugar, remove from heat and add fresh pineapple sage) You can substitute honey for the simple syrup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons lime curd (you can substitute the same quantity of lime zest and juice, I just like the velvety thick texture this adds)

Directions

Combine all ingredients and heat over medium heat until bubbling, about 5 minutes. Turn down to medium low until it thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Ingredients For Chicken

5 whole chicken thighs, bone in, skin on

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 whole onion, diced (I used sweet but regular yellow is fine too)

3/4 cup whiskey

6 ounces barbecue sauce

1/2 jar peach preserves

1/4 cup water

2 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup fresh pineapple sage leaves (rub leaves to release their fragrant oils, then add)

Directions For Chicken

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat oil and butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs in the pot, skin side down. Brown both sides, then remove to a plate.

Pour off half the grease, then return pan to stove. Add onions to pan and stir, cooking for 2 minutes. Pour whiskey into the pot, being very careful if you're using an open flame. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan, allowing whiskey to reduce for a minute or 2. Add remaining 6 ingredients and stir to combine.

Return chicken to pot, skin side up. Cover and place pot in oven. Cook for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Serve over Jasmine or brown rice. It helps to soak up all of that saucy deliciousness!

Pair with my Peach Bourbon Breezer