You can’t have summer without barbecue chicken, especially when we’re talking about my Oven-Baked Spicy Peach Barbecue Chicken. As the name suggests, in this recipe, peaches are the star of the show, not tomatoes. The end result? A thick and naturally sweetened sauce that is bold, spicy and perfectly balanced. And, since we’re baking and not grilling the chicken, we don’t have to worry about that delicious sauce trashing the grill. Because the last thing I want to do is clean the interior of my grill…I’d rather be enjoying my summer. So, let’s keep it easy. Grab a few fresh peaches and let’s get started!
To start, place the chicken thighs on a large baking sheet that has been lined with foil and liberally salt all sides of the chicken. Let the chicken sit on the counter for one hour to marinate. If your house happens to be very hot (above 90 deg F), pop the chicken into the refrigerator to season instead, otherwise the counter is perfectly safe.
Meanwhile, make the barbeque sauce by peeling and chopping 2½ cups (about 4 standard sized) peaches. Add to a medium-sized saucepan along with one tablespoon of grated onion, 2 cloves of minced or grated garlic, 1 teaspoon each of salt, smoked paprika and black pepper, ½ teaspoon of cumin, ¼ teaspoon of cayenne, 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Stir the ingredients together, cover, and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, uncover and using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth. Put the pot back on the stove and continue simmering the sauce, uncovered, until very thick, about 30 minutes. Pour the barbeque sauce into a glass mason jar, seal and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 400 deg F. Once to temperature, place the chicken in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven, turn the oven up to 450 deg F and baste the chicken generously with the spicy peach barbeque sauce on all sides. Place the basted chicken back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and baste again, using up all or nearly all of the barbeque sauce. Bake the chicken for a final 10 minutes, remove the chicken from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Oven-Baked Spicy Peach Barbeque Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
- 2 tsp kosher salt
Spicy Peach Barbeque Sauce
- 2½ cups peeled and chopped peaches (about 4 medium-sized peaches)
- 1 tbsp grated onion
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place chicken thighs on a large baking sheet that has been lined with foil and liberally salt. Allow the chicken to season for one hour before baking.
- While the chicken rests, make the barbecue sauce. Add all ingredients to a medium-sized saucepan, stir, cover and heat over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth. Place the sauce back on the heat and simmer, uncovered, until very thick, about 30 minutes. Place the barbecue sauce in a bowl or jar and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and bake the chicken for 25 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and increase the heat to 450°F. Liberally baste the chicken on all sides with the barbecue sauce, then pop it back in the oven to cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, baste again and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
