Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce

I haven't spent much time posting about canning on the blog – but it is something I love to do! I enjoy taking fresh ingredients and turning them into something amazing – especially things that you can buy from the store, because I can do it cheaper, it’ll taste better and will be better for you (less preservatives and/or weird chemical ingredients that I can’t pronounce). So just more awesome in general :)

Most of my canning is done with my friend Lorraine – we take on some serious canning projects and can make some delicious stuff and have a ton of fun doing it! We typically find and fruit or vegetable that we can get in large quantities for good price then go from there (farmers markets, bountiful baskets, or in this case picking our own peaches). This is where recipes and creativity come in!

After I went peach picking I had a very large quantity of peaches on my hands so Lorraine and I set out to make some fabulous peach canned goods. We had the idea of peach BBQ sauce in mind and decided to run with it! And let me tell you, it came out awesome! It was definitely on the spicy side, so if you don’t like spicy stuff just go easy on the red pepper flakes. The beauty of this is that you can taste it as you go so you can make it as spicy as you’d like. Not a fan of canning – or not ready to give it a try? You can still make this BBQ sauce! It can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks and it can be frozen.

Some of you may be asking What do you do with Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce? Personally, I have grilled chicken breast and brushed this sauce on about 5-10 minutes before its done grilling than serve it with some of the sauce on the side. And I’ve also made pulled chicken with it in my crock-pot.

To make pulled chicken sandwiches just place 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast in a slow cooker with 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Once chicken is fully cooked, remove from crock-pot, let cool, then shred with two forks. Toss shredded chicken with 1/2 to 1 cup of sauce (depending on how saucy you like it). Serve shredded chicken on a bun.

I only have one jar of this stuff left so I trying to decide how I should use the last of it :)

Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce

Printable Recipe

*Makes about 6 half pint jars of sauce

 

Ingredients:

5 cups peaches, peeled and pureed

1 onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 tbsp garlic

¾ cup honey

¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

3 tbsp bourbon

¾ cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp hickory liquid smoke

¼ cup tomato paste

2 tsp dry mustard powder

1 to 1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when thickened to desired consistency.

 

To can BBQ sauce:

While sauce is simmering, sanitize and prepare jars/lids.

 

Distribute hot sauce into the hot jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace and tapping to remove any air bubbles. Cover jar with lid and band, just hand tightened.

 

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes (adjust for altitude if necessary). Remove jars to cool in a draft free place for 24 hours. After 24 hours, check jars to ensure they have been sealed – the lid should not “pop” up and down.

 

The sauce can also be frozen or stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks