Peach BBQ Chicken Thighs Recipe

There is nothing quite like the aromas and rich flavors of BBQ chicken straight from the grill. Add in some fresh, seasonal fruit to the sauce, and it is a divine match worth the extra napkins! This recipe for peach BBQ chicken thighs — courtesy of recipe developer Julie Kinnaird – combines fresh, juicy summer peaches with a tangy mix of sweet bell pepper and onion, brown sugar, peach preserves, champagne vinegar, mustard, ginger, and coriander. The chicken gets a boost of flavor from a dry rub of warming spices. 

Taking an extra step to first grill the peaches, peppers, and onions adds depth to the sauce and brings out the sweetness in the produce. The resulting sauce is so finger-licking-good that you will be glad that you set aside a bit to serve on the side. Finish off the spread with your favorite BBQ accompaniments, some cold beer, and good company for a perfect summer feast.

This recipe uses boneless and skinless chicken thighs. Using this cut of chicken makes the meat easy to cut and minimizes flare-ups on the grill from extra skin and fat. You will need chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to create a dry rub for the meat. The BBQ sauce is made from fresh peaches, sweet yellow onion, and orange bell pepper. These items are rubbed with olive oil, then they're grilled to enhance their flavor. The sauce is finished with light brown sugar, peach preserves, champagne vinegar, whole-grain mustard, fresh ginger root, and dried coriander seeds. All of these ingredients are pureed and cooked down into a thick and flavorful sauce.

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper.

Place the chicken thighs in a shallow dish or bowl and add the spice mix, rubbing it into the flesh.

Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.

Place the peaches, onion, and bell pepper in a shallow dish and rub with the olive oil.

Lightly oil the grates of a grill.

Preheat the grill to medium heat.

Place the peaches, onion, and bell pepper on the grill.

Cook until they have a light char and are slightly softened, turning once (about 5 minutes on each side).

On a cutting board, remove the stem and ribs from the pepper and cut into chunks.

Cut the onion and peaches into smaller pieces.

Transfer the grilled items to a high-speed blender along with the brown sugar, peach preserves, champagne vinegar, mustard, ginger, coriander seeds, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth.

Pour the sauce into a large sauce pot and bring to a simmer.

Cook the sauce for 30 minutes, until slightly thickened and glossy.

Set aside 1 cup of the sauce to use for serving.

Add the seasoned chicken thighs to the grill and cook for 5 minutes on both sides.

Brush the chicken with a generous amount of the BBQ sauce and grill again on both sides until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce starts to caramelize (about 10 minutes total).

Transfer the chicken to a platter and serve with the reserved sauce and your favorite BBQ accompaniments.

While BBQ chicken is an iconic summertime dish, the process is not as straightforward as some might think. Your first concern is choosing the best cut of chicken for the grill. Kinnaird loves thighs for grilling because they do not dry out the same way that the white meat of breasts often does, and they cook more evenly than bone-in drumsticks. Kinnaird always applies a dry-rub of spices to her thighs before grilling to really infuse the meat with flavor before it hits the flame. The flavor of the dry rub intensifies once the chicken starts cooking on the grill. 

A common mistake that newer grillers often make is to add the BBQ sauce to the chicken at the start of cooking. This can lead to burning due to the high sugar content often found in the sauce. Kinnaird says that it is best to grill the chicken almost to doneness on all sides, then brush on the sauce for the last 5–10 minutes of grilling. This allows just enough time for the sugars in the sauce to start to caramelize and give the surface of the chicken a nice, crispy bite. Keep an eye out for "hot spots" on your grill, as well. Use these for final caramelization, and choose more indirect heat areas for the initial cook.

There are several ways to customize this fresh peach BBQ sauce, according to Kinnaird. First, in a pinch (or if you're making this off-season), frozen peaches could be used in place of fresh. Frozen peaches are not grillable, so you would have to skip that step and just thaw them before adding them to the blender. You can also substitute in red or yellow bell pepper for the orange, as they have similar flavor profiles. In place of champagne vinegar, try using apple cider vinegar, which has a similar light and fruity flavor profile. Or better yet, try making your own champagne vinegar! 

The one substitution Kinnaird says to avoid is using bone-in, skin-on thighs in place of the boneless and skinless thighs. Bone-in thighs take a bit longer to cook on the grill, which can lead to the interior of the chicken still being raw in spots while the outer edges are getting dry. Also, the fatty skin can lead to flare-ups on the grill, which causes a blackening to the chicken flesh and an unsavory, burnt flavor.