Peach & Whiskey Barbecue Chicken (adapted for a pressure cooker)

My five weeks of medical leave comes to an official end, as of today. (For those of you who didn't know, I had knee surgery on October 15th.) Thankfully, all went well, and I'm ready to get back to work. My ability to stand, for longer stretches of time, is starting to improve.


I don't know what I would do without my pressure cooker.  Since standing, initially, was an issue I used my pressure cooker just about every day to make quick dinner recipes-- like this delicious chicken recipe.  This recipe is adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Food Network show.  I thought the dish looked easy to make, and I had all the ingredients.  Sold!  "Ree" made this recipe in the oven, which took 1-1/2 hours.  The beauty of a pressure cooker, is that the cooking time was 10 minutes!

NOTE: If you don't own a pressure cooker, or are afraid of them (which is totally unnecessary), I'll explain how to make this the conventional way. 

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The first thing I did, was to cut the recipe to be for two people, instead of six.  In my electric pressure cooker, I browned boneless, skinless, chicken thighs in a little butter and oil.  (Yes, electric pressure cookers have a browning cycle.)  Naturally, you can do this in a Dutch oven.

Flip 'em over. Them remove onto a plate and set aside.

Let's talk about cooking with hard liquor.  I don't drink whiskey. I've never liked the taste of it, no matter how hard I tried. However, cooking with whiskey (or bourbon) is a whole different topic.  I especially like whiskey in sauces, and I don't buy the higher end pricey brand names.  I also use whiskey when making my "Candied Sweet Potatoes-- kicked up".  Love.

 

To make the sauce, I cooked some onion until tender. Then, I added about 1/4 cup of whiskey and let it reduce.

Next, I added about 1 cup of barbecue sauce (any brand will do).  For some sweetness, I added homemade peach preserves (commercial brand is fine) and a little Worcestershire sauce.  Last, I tossed it a couple of peeled garlic cloves. Done!

I returned the chicken into the sauce and locked on the lid to my pressure cooker. I set it for HIGH for ten minutes.  Otherwise, you can bake this at 300F for an hour to an hour and a half.

NOTE: Ree has two versions of this recipe. In one version she adds sliced fresh peaches. I'll try that, next time.

The marvel of pressure cooking is that ten minutes later, the chicken was fully cooked!

I served this over homemade creamy mashed potatoes, and garnished it with scallions.

TASTING NOTES:  While this isn't authentic barbecue, the flavors are right there.  The chicken was super tender, and we liked the sweet and savory flavor of the sauce/gravy.  My husband (who also doesn't drink whiskey) didn't even notice it.  There's something magical that happens when cooking with whiskey-- it gives a deeper flavor, but it's not overpowering. 

I don't think it really matters if you use bone-in or boneless chicken.  Can you use chicken breasts? I don't see why not, though can have a tendency to dry out.  However, with pressure cooking, I find that chicken breasts tend to retain their moisture a lot more.

Would I make this again? Sure!  I always keep chicken thighs in the freezer, because my men love it when I make "Man Pleasing Chicken".   This is a good way for me to use up barbecue sauce, as well.  

This is a really fast recipe to put together, without a whole lot of fuss.  Before anyone asks-- what if you are making this for kids?  Well, I would suggest to just leave out the whiskey! I don't think it would hurt the recipe at all.  But, if you're a grown up, I say give it a go!  You can always buy those "airline" size bottles of whiskey, if you don't drink it much.

Coming up next: Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast with Cranberry Orange Sauce.  Wow was this one easy!

I haven't baked in a whole month, so that's my afternoon project. I have a bowl of freshly picked Meyer lemons, and I have lots of ideas!

Here's the printable recipe card: