Peach BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Peach Coleslaw

If I had to pick my favorite summer fruit, it would definitely be peaches. I love everything about them: the fuzzy skin, the tender, sweet flesh, the way the juice runs down your whole arm when you bite into a really good one. And as much as I enjoy them on their own, I've been trying to find ways to work them into our dinners so I have even more excuses to eat them. One simply cannot eat too many peaches during the summer months, is my motto.

Ever since I tried a friend's roasted strawberry BBQ sauce at our recent cooking club cook-out, I've been intrigued by the idea of using fruit in BBQ sauce. I know people have been doing it for a long time, but I'd never tried it, and I couldn't get the idea of peach BBQ sauce out of my head. A quick Pinterest search revealed that there are many recipes out there for peach BBQ sauce, but I really hit it out of the park with the recipe I chose. The flavor balance of this BBQ sauce is so perfect; it's both savory and sweet, tangy, smoky, and spicy, and its deliciousness almost defies description. 

I mixed the sauce with pulled chicken (cooked in the crock pot with chicken broth, salt and pepper, then shredded once cooked), and I topped the sandwiches with peach coleslaw. The peach coleslaw really amped up the flavor of the peaches and provided a nice textural contrast to the sandwiches. And let me say, with this recipe, I think I've perfected my homemade coleslaw dressing. This version is tangy and sweet and the perfect consistency, and I'll be using it whenever I make coleslaw going forward.

You guys are going to love these sandwiches. You're also going to love those crispy golden discs in the background of the picture, which I'll share with you on Friday.

Peach BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Peach Coleslaw
BBQ sauce adapted from Liv Life

For the sandwiches:

3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
Sandwich buns

For the BBQ sauce:

4 strips bacon, diced
1 tablespoon chopped chipotles in adobo, with sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 peaches, halved, pitted, and diced
3/4 cup bottled white grape peach juice (the original recipe calls for orange juice, but Joe isn't a big fan; this juice was a great substitute)
1 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

For the coleslaw:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons white sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups coleslaw mix
1 peach, sliced

1. To make the BBQ sauce, sauté chopped bacon and chipotle pepper in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Add chopped onion and garlic cloves; sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce; stir 1 minute. Add peaches and stir to combine. Add white grape peach juice, ketchup, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon thickly, stirring sauce often, about 30 minutes.

2. To make the coleslaw, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar and sugar in the bottom of a large bowl. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the coleslaw mix and the peaches and gently stir to combine. Refrigerate until serving.

3. Add the shredded chicken to the thickened BBQ sauce and stir to combine. Pile the chicken on sandwich buns and top with the peach coleslaw.