Bourbon & Peach-Glazed Drumsticks dipped in Whole Grain Flakes

I’ve been waiting patiently for two things this year: the weather to turn warm and for peaches to finally be in season. Well, if you live anywhere in the U.S. you know the weather has turned warm. Insanely warm in fact. Seems we went from chilly to “oh, my god it’s friggin’ hot!” in a matter of days. When it’s that hot the last thing I want to do is cook. Unless it’s outside. And outside means cooking over an open flame, specifically a grill.

I used to hate the grill. It intimidated the hell out of me. I think because every time I used it, the outside of whatever I was cooking would be charred to a crisp while the inside would be cold and raw. So, I’d leave the grilling to my husband and my father. After all if I was the master of the stove and oven in the kitchen, it seemed only fair that the men in my family were the masters of the outdoor barbecue. Is that 50’s enough for you? Well, don’t fret because while my recipes and clothing preferences have remained squarely in the past, my cooking mentality has joined the new millenium. And that means I have finally mastered the grill. Now when I cook a piece of meat over an open flame, the outside has those beautiful grill marks while the inside is cooked to a nice medium-rare.  But that was steak and pork. Chicken was another story. Especially bone-in chicken.

I was still having trouble when it came to fowl. The inside just never seemed cooked enough. Then, thanks to Better Homes and Gardens, I discovered a secret that’s evidently as old as the grill itself. Cook the chicken beforehand. That’s right, if you roast your drumsticks ahead of time in the oven, you’ll never have to worry whether or not they’re cooked the whole way through. I couldn’t believe I’d never heard this trick. I mean, it makes so much sense. By cooking the chicken ahead of time, not only do I not have to man the grill for hours during a backyard barbecue, there’s never any doubt the chicken is fully cooked.  But if you cook the chicken ahead of time, how do you get that awesome smokey flavor and those beautiful grill marks? Easy. You throw them on the grill for about 10 minutes and voila, you have beautiful chicken with an awesome smokey flavor.

But I said two things, didn’t I? Well right around the time the temperatures hit the triple digits, peaches finally started showing up at my farmer’s market. You have no idea how happy I was. Not only is the peach one of my all time favorite fruits, it finally meant I could make this chicken recipe I’ve been dying to make since early March. This recipe not only called for peaches, it called for my favorite kind of alcohol too – that’s right, bourbon. And if that wasn’t enough it called for a flaky crust made out of, what else, cornflakes. A fried chicken standard.

Since I’m anything but standard though, I wanted to try something a little different. I mean, everyone and their grandmother has made chicken dipped in cornflakes. But I’m not really a cornflake fan. Whole grain wheat flakes, on the other hand, just tell me where to line up. And since the sweetness of the wheat flakes pairs wonderfully with the sweetness of the fresh peaches, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Better still, General Mills had just sent me a box of Total to work with.

I finally had everything I needed – fresh peaches, perfect grilling weather and wheat flakes. Those three things helped me create what I have to say are probably some of the best grilled drumsticks I’ve ever had. And I can’t wait to make them again and again before the hot weather and those fresh sweet peaches disappear.

Bourbon & Peach-Glazed Drumsticks dipped in Whole Grain Flakes

Ingredients:

• 8 drumsticks or thighs
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup fresh peaches, pitted and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. bourbon
• 1 Tbsp. deli mustard
• 2 tsps. cider vinegar
• 2 tsps. honey
• 1/8 tsp. Tabasco (optional)
• 2 cups Total whole grain flakes, crushed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Place drumsticks in a large baking pan and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Bake for 35-40 minutes. (These can be covered and chilled for up to 3 days before finishing them up on the grill.)
3. Preheat the grill to 400°F.
4. For the sauce, combine the peaches, bourbon, mustard, vinegar, honey, Tabasco and remaining salt in a food processor and process until smooth.
5. Place the prepared chicken legs on the grill directly over the flame and grill for 6-8 minutes. Brush the sauce generously over the drumsticks. Turn the drumsticks over and cook for another 6 minutes. Brush with the remaining sauce.
6. Place the Total flake crumbs in a shallow bowl and dip the glazed drumsticks into the crumbs. Transfer the chicken to a platter and serve with a bowlful of the remaining crumbs for continued dipping.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. While General Mills sent me the cereal, these opinions and recipes are my own.