The inspiration for this scrumptious chicken highlighting the flavors of peach and bourbon came from Instagram, but it was salmon rather than chicken. And it was baked rather than grilled (I think). I don’t remember the details, and anyone who is on Instagram knows that’s the nature of the social media beast— either follow it or lose it. And I don’t want to follow every single thing that interests me because I’m scatterbrained enough, and I don’t always think to “save” a recipe post to my favorites collection. I need that sacred space for videos of hero dogs making their final flight home, hungry raccoons snatching a donut at the Dunkin’ drive-thru, and onesie-wearing dachshunds munching on carrots by a cozy fireplace. Yep, I use social media for mindless entertainment. When it comes to food posts, I’m only looking for inspiration.

That mention of a peaches and bourbon combo was enough to get me going, though, and it stuck with me for days after I saw it, so when Les and I were asking each other what we’d do for dinner last weekend, I remembered the package of chicken thighs I had just bought that day and I blurted without even thinking, “peach-bourbon glazed chicken.” And there was no arm-twisting involved, because anytime we are pairing anything and bourbon, we’re good. All I needed was a recipe, right?

Not so fast.

If I had time only to share one message for people who think they don’t know how to cook, it would be this: trust yourself! Recipes only get you so far; you still have to understand some things about cooking, and that boils down to pairing flavors and mastering a few techniques. You already know what flavors you like together, so learn the methods that will help you be successful and the rest will fall into place. I didn’t write down anything about the recipe from that fleeting Instagram post— but I am going to connect the dots from what struck me about it: peaches, bourbon, meat and the grill.

The Flavor Pairings

Peaches are sweet, juicy and summery. What complements sweet? Tart, spice or smoke. That helps narrow down my next move toward pairing flavors. Bourbon is strong, with a boozy bite and a light smokiness from oak barrel aging, so I already have a complementary flavor profile (smoke) taking shape. I can inch it further toward smoke with introduction of a spice, but which ones are smoky? Off the top of my head, I know I have cumin, but that starts heading off into more specific ethnic cuisines (Mexican or Indian), which is not where I’m going. I wanted this to taste like an all-American summer. Paprika is also smoky and brings the benefit of adding vibrant brick-red color. That’s my choice for this dish, and I happen to have a bourbon-smoked paprika, which is a no-brainer here. Finally, I want to take the edge off the bourbon without losing its flavor, and a bit of brown sugar will do that while also supporting the sweetness of the peach. See how easy that was?

Lest you think that I analyze every recipe I make this way, I can assure that most of this mental processing happens unconsciously, much the same as getting dressed in the morning and instantly knowing which colors, styles and patterns will work or clash. The more time you spend in the kitchen, the more natural these decisions become.

Salt and pepper: the simplest seasonings are usually enough when you’re grilling, and it’s the way to go when you want the flavor of the meat to take center stage.

Smoked paprika: this lends a light smoky flavor, which is always a winner for the grill. This spice might not have been right for berries or citrus, but it worked great with peaches.

Brown sugar: this will underscore the sweetness of the peaches, soften the bourbon and also encourage even caramelization of the meat during grilling and glazing.

The Technique

Les and I have both grilled food for years, but we always have something new to learn. I’ve been leaning heavily lately on the teachings of Kenji López-Alt, whose book The Food Lab describes in detail the benefits of dry-brining meat before roasting or grilling. It’s a whole science-y thing that involves reverse osmosis or something, and it works every time, producing both a great crispy skin and a juicy, tender interior. So for these chicken thighs, I did a quick dry brine with the seasoning blend above, and I held back a spoonful to use in the peach-bourbon glaze (more on that in a moment).

With better planning, I would have done this seasoning step the night before we cooked, to give the chicken skin more than five hours of dry brining time. But sometimes these ideas hit me on the same day I want to cook, and five hours turned out to be plenty to give the chicken a locked-in delicious flavor. An extra few hours would likely have dried out the skin more for an even crispier exterior, so maybe next time. 😉

The Peach-Bourbon Glaze

The peach-bourbon flavor combination that started it all was the last thing I prepared, but you can see by now that it was the basis for everything else I did. This is usually how I develop a recipe, whether it’s for a cocktail, a dessert or a main dish. The same spice blend I rubbed on the chicken also seasoned the peaches I cooked down for the glaze. An extra spoonful of brown sugar made the glaze syrupy, but too much would have made it cloyingly sweet. For the bourbon, I scanned my bar for ideas. Would regular bourbon have worked? Of course. Black-cherry infused bourbon? Not so much. The smoked maple was next-level, the winner!  

More Technique

The rest of the process belonged to my husband, also known here as “Master of the Grill.” He has been relentless in learning the nuances of our new Napoleon gas grill with its numerous bells and whistles, including infrared searing zones, and some of those features come with a steep learning curve. For chicken thighs, Napoleon recommends a “reverse-sear” technique—Kenji would approve— and so Les preheated the grill to 350° F, with indirect heat on one side. The goal with this kind of cooking is to slow-cook the meat to achieve proper temperature before sealing the deal with crispy skin and glaze.

Les placed the thighs skin side-down on that indirect side and closed the grill cover, turning them only once during a whole 25 minutes, and checking the internal temperature periodically until it reached the recommended 145° F. Finally, the chicken was ready to move to the direct heat side of the grill, where it was licked by the flames for about four minutes, until the skin was crispy and the final meat temperature was 165° F. Only then did Les brush the peach-bourbon glaze onto the thighs for a final grilling, and gave them another quick sear to lock in the glaze.

If he had done the glazing too early, two things could have gone wrong— the glaze (with all its sugars) would probably have burned, and the wetness of it would have kept the skin from reaching and keeping its ideal, crispy texture. Patience, Grasshopper.

The Result

So there we have it: peach-bourbon inspiration + simple, complementary seasonings + unconventional technique + teamwork = one winner of a dish! The chicken thighs were juicy and tender inside, with a nice, crispy skin and a flavorful coating that combined one of summer’s greatest gifts and one of our favorite spirits. 

This right here; this is why I love to cook. 😁