Peach Glazed Chicken is an outrageously delicious grilled chicken main dish blanketed with a tasty, sweet, sticky, and spicy peach glaze made with fresh peaches, jalapenos, and peach preserves. The peach glaze adds a pleasing sweet-savory element that perfectly complements the smoky chicken.
I’m sure you can tell by the proliferation of recipes involving chicken and grilling on my blog that I love grilled chicken, especially this Peach Glazed Chicken. And, coincidently, one of my favorite things about summer is that my husband cooks something on the grill several times a week.
This week, the stars aligned, and one of my favorite foods and one of my favorite pastimes (that is, watching my husband grill) came together spectacularly and produced this flavorful peach glazed chicken recipe.
Now, I will admit that while this recipe is short on ingredients, it does take a few more steps than most of my recipes, but the finished dish is definitely worth the extra effort. Your family will absolutely love it, and if you serve it at a neighborhood barbecue, well, let’s say you will be the most popular cook on the block. Oh, and be sure you have plenty of napkins because the phrase, finger-lickin’ good” has never been truer.
Here’s what you will need:
The ingredients list is short: bone-in chicken pieces, kosher salt, black pepper, a jar of peach preserves, cayenne pepper, fresh peaches, and jalapeno pepper.
You will also need a heavy-duty 13×9 inch disposable aluminum pan with at least 2-3 inch sides.
(You will be cooking in this pan and taking it off of the hot grill full of poultry and liquid, so make sure you use a heavy-duty pan with high enough sides to grab with your oven mitts. The last thing you want is to use a flimsy pan and have it collapse when you try to take it off of the grill.) You can guess how I know this! The pan in my photos is way too small! So, please do as I say, not as I did!
Here’s how to make it:
To get started, first pat the poultry pieces dry with a paper towel.
Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over the front and back of pieces. Place them in a plastic storage bag and store it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
When you are ready to grill, set up your grill for direct cooking. If you are using a charcoal grill, use enough charcoal to maintain the heat at about 375 degrees while the chicken cooks. When the coals are hot, or your grill is at 375 degrees, clean and oil the grill grate(s) and place on the grill.
Add the preserves and cayenne pepper to a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
Spray the aluminum pan with a non-stick cooking spray and pour in the preserves mixture. Spread the preserves evenly over the bottom. Place the poultry in the pan, skin side down. Place the peach halves, and jalapeno halves in the pan cut side up.
(Cooking the poultry in the pan for the first part of the grilling process is the secret to moist, tender poultry infused with and covered with the delicious peach glaze.)
Place the aluminum pan on the grate and put the grill lid on. (If using charcoal, position the vent opening over the chicken.) Cook the chicken for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken pieces. My pieces were large, so I cooked them for almost 15 minutes, but if yours are small, only cook them for 10 minutes.
Flip the pieces over and rotate the pan so that all pieces cook uniformly. Continue to cook for approximately 10-15 minutes (again depending on the size of your chicken pieces), or until the breasts register 155 degrees and the thighs register 170 degrees on a meat thermometer.
Flip the pieces to ensure they are thoroughly coated with the peach glaze and place them directly on the grill. (Leave the aluminum pan on the grill along with the peach and jalapeno halves to allow the peach preserves mixture to thicken)
Grill the pieces for two to four minutes and be careful that they don’t burn. Flip them over again and cook for an additional two to four minutes or until the breasts register 160 degrees F. and the thighs register 175 degrees F.
When the chicken is done, place it back in the aluminum pan skin side up, and using heavy-duty oven mitts, carefully remove the pan from the grill. Tent the pan with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Place the peach glazed chicken on a serving platter. Chop up the peach and jalapeno halves and mix with the peach preserves mixture. Spoon the peach preserves mixture over the top and serve immediately.
Sharon’s tips:
This wonderful dish is the perfect entree to pair with either fresh Corn, Tomato, Avocado Salad, or Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad for a sensational light meal. It would also be a fabulous choice for a terrific backyard bash with Garden Pasta Salad and Strawberry Margarita Ice Pops or my Old-Fashioned Southern Peach Cobbler
Related recipes:
If you like chicken cooked on the grill, you might also like these popular recipes:
- Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
- The Best and Easiest Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
- Grilled Beer Can Chicken
- Simple Grilled Whole Lemon Chicken
- Grilled Chicken Skewers with Tomato Relish
★ If you make this dish, please leave a comment and give this recipe a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
Peach Glazed Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken pieces bone-in with the skin on
- 2¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 12 ounces peach preserves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 fresh peach halved and pitted
- 1 jalapeno pepper cut in half lengthwise with the seeds and membrane removed
Instructions
- Pat chicken pieces dry with a paper towel.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over the front and back of the chicken pieces. Place chicken in a plastic storage bag and store it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- When you are ready to grill the chicken, set up your grill for direct cooking. If you are using a charcoal grill, use enough charcoal to maintain the heat at about 375 degrees while the chicken cooks. Clean and oil the grill grate and place it on the grill.
- Add the preserves and cayenne pepper to a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Spray the aluminum pan with a non-stick cooking spray and pour in the preserves mixture. Spread the preserves evenly over the bottom. Place the chicken pieces in the pan, skin side down. Place the peach halves and jalapeño halves in the pan cut side up. (Cooking the chicken in the pan for the first part of the grilling process is the secret to moist, tender chicken infused with and covered with the delicious peach glaze.)
- Place the aluminum pan on the grate and put the grill lid on. (If using charcoal, position the vent opening over the chicken.) Cook the chicken for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. My pieces were large, so I cooked them almost 15 minutes, but if yours are small, only cook them for 10 minutes.
- Flip the chicken pieces over and rotate the pan so that the chicken pieces cook uniformly. Continue to cook for approximately 10-15 minutes (again depending on the size of your chicken pieces), or until the breast registers 155 degrees and the thighs register 170 degrees on a meat thermometer.
- Flip the chicken pieces over again to make sure they are thoroughly coated with the peach preserves mixture and place them directly on the grill. (Leave the aluminum pan on the grill along with the peach and jalapeño halves to allow the peach preserves mixture to thicken) Grill the chicken pieces for 2-4 minutes, and be careful that they don't burn. Flip the chicken pieces over again and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes or until the breasts register 160 degrees and the thighs register 175 degrees.
- When the chicken is done, place it back in the aluminum pan skin side up, and using heavy-duty oven mitts, carefully remove the pan from the grill. Tent the pan with foil and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.
- Place the chicken pieces on a serving platter. Chop up the peach and jalapeño halves and mix with the peach preserves mixture. Spoon the peach preserves mixture over the chicken and serve immediately.
Love peaches, love chicken and love watching Hubs grill too. This will be a hit at my house.
I am going to try the watermelon tomato salad this weekend. I fixed the peach and blackberry crumble for my bookclub group and it was a big hit. Your blog has made cooking fun again.
I’m so glad you are enjoying it!