Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays. I have such amazing memories of my family Sukkah, always filled to the brim with guests, amazing homemade food and bottles and bottles of mashkeh (Yiddish for alcoholic beverages) to go around. The men would drink L’chaim and sing Hassidic melodies, banging on the table in their drunken stupor. It was beautiful.
Simchat Torah, the holiday where we conclude and begin a new annual Torah reading cycle, is just a few days away. It’s a time of great rejoicing, when we take to the synagogue, kick up our feet and dance with the Torah. Of course the drinks are free-flowing, and so is the food. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the Chag than with this bourbon-spiked BBQ chicken. The chicken is braised in a luscious sauce that is so good, you’ll want to eat it straight with a spoon (or drink it out of a L’chaim glass)! Make it for Simchat Torah dinner, and it will become a staple on your holiday table.
L’chaim!
Bourbon Apricot BBQ Chicken
1 chicken, quartered or cut in 8
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced small
1 1/2 cups bourbon
6 oz hickory brown sugar BBQ sauce
15 oz apricot jam
1/2 cup water
Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven, or oven-safe pot. Pat the chicken dry and sear the chicken, skin-side-down, until browned. Brown the other side and remove from the pot.
Saute the onions in the fat (you can pour off some fat if there is too much) and cook until golden. Add the bourbon, BBQ sauce, apricot jam and water and bring to a boil. Boil the sauce for a few minutes, so the alcohol cooks off, lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens. Return the chicken to the pot, cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
NOTE: You may use any BBQ sauce, but I love how the hickory and brown sugar flavor pairs with the bourbon.
Related Recipes:
drunken hasselback salami
beer battered salami chips with beer mustard
turkey meatballs with red wine cranberry marinara
honey roasted za’atar chicken in wine
whiskey cider
Can you make this with boneless chicken?
This recipe is best suited for on-the-bone chicken because it’s braised for a long time (resulting in fall-off-the-bone moist chicken), and boneless chicken would come out dry. If you want to use boneless, I would bake it for just 30-40 minutes at 350.
i don’t have a Dutch oven or oven safe pot. Is there another way to make this?
Yes, you can transfer it to a pan after searing and coat it in the sauce. Cover very tightly and bake as directed.
What brand is the hickory brown sugar bbq sauce
I don’t remember which brand I used but I’m pretty sure Hunt’s and Jack Daniel’s both make that flavor.
this sounds amazing! What a delicious take on BBQ chicken :)
Thanks Rachel!
Can you.make this chicken without the bourbon n without searing it? Like just baking it in oven
Yes. It won’t be as soft and delicious but it works.
Do you think it will still be good. N delicious My husband likes BBQ chicken
Yes, I think it will still be good.
Can the bourbon be replaced with something else like rum or scotch? Thanks :)
Definitely not rum, but scotch should work.
Can you use less bourbon? That’s a lot of bourbon to use for a pan of chicken…
Sure! If you feel like it’s too much, just reduce the amount to an amount you are comfortable with.
Is this very saucy or can it be used for Shabbat lunch?
If you can rewarm it, then I think it can.