Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken

One of my favorite summer fruits is the peach. So, while they’re still in season, I try to eat them as often as I can. On a hot summer day, I’ll slice a peach right off the stone, place the pieces in a bowl and eat them with a sprinkle of sugar. It’s the perfect summer fruit dessert. Also, I love finding ways to work peaches into a dinner, such as this peach whiskey barbecue chicken recipe.

Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken Recipe

I’ve seen recipes for this dish that employ the slow cooker. You could easily take all of the ingredients below, and create a dump and go dinner that you start in the morning and eat at night. This is a great idea if you’re tight on time or will be using peaches that you’d previously frozen. However, in this instance, we’re cooking everything in one skillet. So this is a one-pan dinner.

In fact, you’ll start on the stovetop and end in the oven. So make sure you’re using a skillet that can go from one to another. In this instance, a cast iron skillet may be your best bet. However, we have an all-purpose All-Clad skillet that I love. It’s a real workhorse. I’ve made this dish using both kinds of pans.

Ingredients Overview

As you know from the name of this recipe, it calls for using whiskey. You may have seen other similar recipes that call this a peach bourbon chicken dish. Truth is, it is up to you whether you use bourbon or another kind of whiskey. Because all bourbon is whiskey. Now, if this recipe had called for bourbon specifically, I wouldn’t have recommended substituting another kind of whiskey. Because you may not realize it but not every whiskey is a bourbon.

OK, onto the ingredients overview.

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Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Meanwhile, on the stovetop, set it to medium heat. Add oil and butter to a large cast-iron skillet, and heat until butter is melted. Add in the diced onion and saute for about 3-4 minutes.

Place chicken drumsticks in a skillet, and brown for about 3 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken over and cook for about 3 more minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet.

Add whiskey to skillet, and simmer for about 4 minutes

Add barbecue sauce.

Then add 1/4 cup water and peach preserves. Stir until well combined.

Place browned chicken in a skillet, and top with peach slices.

Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours, then uncovered for 30 minutes, or until chicken is very tender.

Additional Notes

This recipe pairs really well with green beans or seasoned cooked potato cubes. Or, you can serve it with a cold pasta salad or regular salad.

I used Open Pit honey BBQ sauce, but any kind will work. If you have barbecue sauce leftover from making BBQ wings in the air fryer, this recipe is the perfect time to use it up.

Make sure to use a very large cast iron skillet that will hold everything without spilling over the sides. I placed a cookie sheet on the bottom rack of my oven below the skillet to catch any drippings.

Finally, we topped this dish with Italian flat leaf parsley but that’s completely optional. It makes the pictures look pretty and we like the flavor. But if you don’t, then skip it altogether.