Cherry Bomb Chicken
Cherry Bomb Chicken is salt-brined and then smothered in an easy Cherry Pepper BBQ Sauce while cooking. This recipe makes for the most tender and sticky sweet spicy chicken ever!
I have made this chicken 3 times and I almost didn't share it. Because 3 out of 3 times I have not gotten a photo that does this chicken justice.
But it is so so so amazingly good-- like sticky sweet BBQ chicken deliciousness made with fresh cherries and hot peppers and things like molasses ---I just had to give you the recipe.
This chicken is all full of summer BBQ love. And with the 4th looming over next week and the fireflies in full swing, the timing seemed right.
It started with a friend - my friend Judith that knows about the insane amount of crazy hot peppers Chad has managed to grow in and around this house. She sent me a recipe and said it would use up a few peppers because FYI: if you have never grown peppers you wait and wait and wait and wait and then... you have 1 billion peppers.
The recipe she sent me was called "Cherry Bomb Chicken" and I was stoked. Cherries and peppers? Yes yes yes. It sounded sweet to me, a good way to balance the ridiculous heat of a Carolina Reaper or Butch T. Trinidad Scorpion, peppers that make Habaneros look tame. So I read the recipe and...
It did not call for cherries. It called for cherry tomatoes.
Wamp wamp.
Judith made the original with just a few minor adjustments and she was really happy with the results. You can find her Cherry Bomb Chicken and lots of other goodies at The Midnight Baker. But I was still stuck wanting cherries with my hot peppers and so I ran with my instincts and came up with Forreal Cherry Bomb Chicken.
It's the real deal.
Cherries, rice vinegar, honey, molasses, and a smidge of sugar were enough to balance out the hot pepper heat and offer up a distinctive flavor. They always say hot peppers "taste fruity" or whatever, but usually my mouth is all puffy and on fire and I actually have no idea what the flipping peppers taste like. Who are "they" anyways?
This cherry glaze combined with the brine lets you taste the FLAVOR of the pepper without drinking a gallon of milk afterward.
Then there is the brine itself. Holy wow!!! I make rubs and marinades for chicken all the time but I don't believe I've ever used this kind of brine method. It makes the chicken fall right off the bone. Tender, juicy, full of flavor-- you'll be like a BBQ hero.
Cherry Bomb Chicken. Get with it!!
And have a great weekend!!!
- 10 chicken legs, skin-on (or the equivalent number of pieces; about 3 pounds)
- Brine:
- 1 quart warm water
- ⅓ cup kosher salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1½ cups fresh cherries, pitted
- 2 Carolina Reaper peppers, coarsely chopped (or 3 Habanero chiles-- see note)
- 2 cloves garlic
- Cherry Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pint fresh cherries, halved and pitted
- 1 Carolina Reaper pepper (see note)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup molasses
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Place the pitted cherries, warm water, kosher salt, sugar, allspice, chili peppers, and garlic in the blender. Blend until you have frothy pink liquid.
- Place the chicken pieces in a large container or bowl, pour the brine over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
- While the chicken marinates, make the cherry pepper glaze. Heat the oil and add the onion and salt. Continue cooking over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cherries and chili pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the water, cornstarch, rice vinegar, honey, molasses, and sugar. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. The mixture will be THICK and sticky!!
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the glaze through. You may need to press it with a spatula. This removes the cherry skins. You can skip this step if you're not particular.
- Heat the grill to about 500. Remove the chicken from the brine and discard the liquid.
- Place the chicken pieces on the HOT HOT grill for about 2 minutes. Flip them and cook for another minute or 2. Reduce the heat to medium, close the lid, and let them cook for about 10 minutes. Turn them again, close the lid and cook for 10 more minutes. (If you are cooking on a charcoal grill: Make a hot hot side and a less hot side by piling the coals to one side of the cook kettle. Sear the chicken on the hot hot side and then move the pieces to the other side, cover, cook, and continue)
- Brush each piece with the cherry pepper glaze. Cook for a few more minutes, turn, and glaze the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate and serve.
- *****Degree of Doneness/Cook Time will depend on the size of your chicken pieces and whether or not there is a bone. Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature at the thickest part is 165 degrees.*****
Additionally, make sure that you are cooking in a well-ventilated area or outside with hot hot peppers-- the fumes can become like pepper gas if you aren't careful! I always turn the vent on over the stove.
P.S. The only annoying part of this whole entire recipe is pitting the cherries. I really like this little OXO Cherry Pitter - It's cheap and it does the job!
For the Grilled Brussels Sprouts in the photos you can find the recipe for How to Grill Brussels Sprouts <<<<------here
This recipe is the bomb!! Those Carolina reaper peppers look a little like habaneros. I like how you said you have to wait till there are a billion!! Lol. This looks deliciously messily good. I like that square plate too! Also- I can't get The Runaways' song Cherry Bomb out of my head now!
Haha Cherry Bomb.
These peppers make Habaneros look mild. They are ridiculous. But this recipe balances them out. We love it!
What an unexpected combination! Looks delicious in that sweet and sour kind of way. Love it.
Love your plate too! I think my next purchase will be square plates!
These square plates are from Target! The Twilight Zone of all awesome things.
This chicken turned out reeeeeaaally well. Cherries and peppers make great friends!
This looks fantastic! I'm always looking for new chicken recipes!! Yay, can't wait to try this. My friend gave me that same cherry pitter and I love it! Pining!
Awesome Sandra! Thanks!
These pictures are bringing so much joy to my life, the chicken looks perfect!
Thank you Pamela!! That's so nice!
I'm happy you finally decided to post this , WOW!! This looks amazingly good. We will be trying this!
Thanks, Dan!! Hope you'll try it! And if you do let me know how you like it!
This chicken looks like it's the bomb...the cherry bomb that is haha I want it!
It IS the bomb! 🙂
Oh em geeeee this looks fantastic. I kind of want to bathe in the cherry bomb glaze.. is that weird? Don't judge me if it is.
Not weird at all.
Your genius is impressive! Those spicy peppers and those cherries are making my mouth water as I'm reading! Don't get me started on the brine!
Haha. Thanks, Tanya!
Cherries and chicken, you just make it work so well 😀
Cheers
CCU
Cherry and chicken... Say what??! The glaze looks so thick and sticky!!! YUM!
Thanks! Ohhh you guys it is so good. Hope you'll try it!
P.S. -- loving your Instagram acct lately! Such gorgeous shots from France!
I just drooled all over my computer. This looks awesome!!
Thanks, Yvonne!!
This looks bomb. (Pun intended.)
Haha
This is one finger licking good recipe and sweet and spicy. I love that combo.
Thanks, Bam!! It was definitely a hit over here.
This looks wonderful and the flavor mix of spicy and sweet is spot on! Unfortunately, I don't have a grill, but wondering if I could brine and cook on top of the stove in a grill pan or put in the slow cooker and then a quick crisping under the broiler--though I hate the idea of turning on the oven in 90+ heat. I will follow the advice of the respondent to resolve the saltiness of the brine. Thanks for a great recipe.
Heather,
I don't think I received a reply to my inquiry. This looks wonderful and the flavor mix of spicy and sweet is spot on. Unfortunately, I don't have a grill but was wondering if I could brine the chicken and cook on top of the stove in a grill pan or put in the slow cooker and then a quick crisping under the broiler--though I hate the idea of turning on the oven in 90+ degree heat. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hey Gail -- thanks so much for reaching out!
This isn't a question I can really answer though because I just haven't tried it myself.
I tested the recipe on the grill and those are the results I can attest to.
What I CAN tell you is that you can brine poultry that is cooked in the oven. Lots of people brine their Thanksgiving turkeys! If you go the slow cooker route, this recipe has great instructions for how to cook and then finish in the oven: https://www.sugardishme.com/slow-cooker-honey-sriracha-drumsticks/
If you try a grill pan on the stove top and that works for you, please let us know!
Thanks for reading! - Heather