Peach Barbecue Chicken

Peach Barbecue Chicken

Nothing says summer better than barbecue. But I couldn't just do plain old barbecue chicken with a sauce from a bottle, I had to find something bigger and better than that. Thats where Gwyneth Paltrow came in. Featured on the latest cover of Bon Appetit magazine, Gwyneth is promoting her new cook book My Father's Daughter. Yes, ladies and gentleman, she acts, sings, writes her own blog (Goop.com) and now she is a published cook book author. Talk about a renaissance woman. Anyway, Gwyneth was pictured making this recipe for peach barbecue chicken and I knew it would be the perfect twist on a classic. Aside from being incredibly easy to prepare, this barbecue chicken is spicy and tangy all at the same time creating a fantastic flavor profile, and a welcome change from traditional barbecue sauce.

Ingredients
9-10 ounces frozen sliced peaches, thawed
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles in adobo
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil

In the amount of time it takes you to cook four chicken breasts, you can have a delicious sauce to go along with it. Rub each chicken breast with a little vegetable oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for ten to twelve minutes, flipping once, on a grill pan or outdoor grill. In a small saucepan, add the ketchup, peaches, lemon juice, chipotle sauce and garlic and stir occasionally until the mixture is heated through. Most people don't know that you can cook with a saucepan over a grill the same way you can over a stove, so if you're cooking your chicken on an outdoor grill, don't hesitate to do the same with the barbecue sauce.

After heating the barbecue sauce, remove it from the grill or the stove and allow it to come to room temperature. Then, using an immersion blender or blending in a regular blender in small batches, puree the barbecue sauce until smooth. During the last few minutes of cooking the chicken, brush on the barbecue sauce and allow to heat through until it becomes glazed over the chicken. Serve the rest of the sauce on the side for dipping. 

If you prefer a sweeter sauce, feel free to add more peaches or ketchup and limit the adobo. But if you prefer a spicier sauce like I do, add a teaspoon more of adobo sauce. The peach flavor will definitely still shine through but you will just have that extra kick. Enjoy!