Peach-Whiskey BBQ Chicken

When I first saw Ree Drummond making this recipe on her show, Pioneer Woman, I thought oooo I bet that tastes good. So I immediately looked for an excuse to make it. So I decided to make it and bring it to Daniel and Emma's Memorial Day BBQ (just because I knew this was right up Daniel's alley). Of course, he loved it! But now the only problem was that now I was left with the other half of the bottle of Jack Daniels. Clearly, I needed to find an excuse to make it again! So I did, only this time it was for Chris and Claire on Fathers' Day (since this is right up Chris's alley too!). Needless to say he LOVED it. He even took a couple pieces out of the pot and put them on the grill, just to give 'em a little char. (Big thumb's up, btw!)
 So there you have it. Who would have ever thought to put peaches and whiskey together in a BBQ sauce? Well, Ree Drummond, apparently. It's ABSOLUTELY mouthwateringly good. The chicken just falls off the bone, and you're gonna want to pour the sauce over anything and everything. If there's ONE new recipe you decide to try this summer, this is the one, hands down. It's just that good. Guess I need to find another excuse to make this again!


12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs,
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 whole yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups whiskey
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
1 small jar peach preserves
1/2 cup water
4 peaches, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
4 cloves garlic, peeled


Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Heat oil and butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs, four at a time, in the pot, skin side down. Brown both sides, then remove to a plate and repeat until all chicken is browned.
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 two. Pour in barbecue sauce, peach preserves, water, peaches, and Worcestershire sauce. Throw in garlic cloves. Stir until combined, then return chicken to the pot, skin side up. Cover and put pot in oven.
Cook for 1 1/2 hours, then remove from oven. Serve with grits or mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of chopped green onion, if desired.


 Tips:
 Chris and I have decided that this sauce would be AMAZING with pork in a crock pot. In fact, I think I'm gonna try that next time. I'll brown the pork on all sides, then make the sauce in the same pan. Then I'll add half of the sauce along with the pork in the crock pot and cook it on low for 8 or 10 hours. After the pork is cooked, cooled, and pulled, I'll add the rest of the sauce. Doesn't that sound AMAZING?? 
 I used Jack Daniels. You can use whichever kind of whiskey you like. For a little extra flavor bump, add an extra shot of whiskey as you take it out of the oven and just stir it in.
 I like using peaches that are not quite ripe. Their flavor is a little more tart, and they're a little more firm so they won't disintegrate into the sauce.
 The first time I made this, I didn't have any peaches, but I had frozen mangoes. They worked perfectly!