PRESERVE: Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Free (and a Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce Canning Recipe)

• Cold-Hardy Peach Varieties
• Peach Growing Tips
• Processing your Peach Harvest
• Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce Ingredients
• How to Can Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce
• Recipe Ideas & Serving Suggestions for Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce
• Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce (Water-Bath Canning Recipe)

I’m movin to the city, gonna eat me a lot of peaches…

Peaches come from a can

They were put there by a wo-man

Near a factory, not downtoooowwwwnnnnn…

And if I had my little way,

Eat west-side peaches, everyday

Sun soakin’ bulges in the shade (of the building next door)

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I guess these peaches are technically not free, but the small investment in our little tree has long-since paid for itself in beautiful sun-ripe juicy peaches. You can fit a single self-pollinating dwarf peach tree in the tiniest yard, and if you pick the right one, grow them farther north than you may have thought!

And once you have your own millions of peaches (whether you grew them yourself or bought them hot off the peach truck), you can skip to the end of this post for ways to preserve all those peaches, including the spicy peach barbecue sauce canning recipe. We also have some great meal ideas and suggestions for using your homemade peach bbq sauce at the end of this post!

Cold-Hardy Peach Varieties

You can totally grow peaches in many parts of the north (for which my southern soul is grateful), but you need to choose the right varieties. You may miss out on peaches some years if you get a late frost, but this is true just about everywhere but the deepest part of the south!

Our peach tree is a Fingerlakes Cold-Hardy dwarf from Stark Nursery, because up here, Winter is Coming (different Stark family, but still ready for the ice and snow and even late freezes that our weather brings). I planted this tree in the spring of 2016, the first spring after closing on this house. Stark no longer carries this variety, but if you look you should still be able to find it from other nursery catalogs. 

Here’s the description from the Stark Catalog for this little self-pollinating tree (perfect for urban gardeners, because you only need one tree to get a good crop of fruit) that is hardy in USDA zones 5-8: “Large fruit with exquisite peach taste. This late-season peach is great for fresh-eating and it also retains its succulent flavor even when frozen or canned. Fruit resists bruising and holds color well when sliced. Bright red blush over yellow background skin covers a sweet golden flesh that literally drips as you eat it. Tree withstands temperatures to 20ºF below zero. Freestone. Ripens mid- to late-September. Self-pollinating.”

If you can’t find a Fingerlakes tree, you could try growing another cold-hardy variety, like Redhaven, Reliance, Harrow Beauty, or Rich Haven.

Peach Growing Tips

Try to put your tree somewhere that it gets plenty of sun and is sheltered from icy winds and frost pockets (hilltops and slopes are better than valleys, but do the best you can if you have a small lot).

Make sure that you do a nice deep donut-mulch around your baby trees, and keep them well watered for the first few years until they are established! Periodically fertilize around the drip line of your trees with compost or organic fertilizers (with NPK balanced for fruiting and woody plants if you use commercial organic fertilizers). 

I have had a few small crops so far from our little tree (minus the year we got a hard, late freeze) but this season is finally an unprecedented bonanza of luscious tree-ripened gold, dropping faster than we can process them, and they have definitely been worth the wait.

Hey squirrels (and chickens), you’re welcome? The former have been helping themselves, and the latter get the dropped fruit that the squirrels didn’t finish, plus any that are too smashed to salvage. 

Processing your Peach Harvest

It’s early September and our little peach tree is still heavy with fruit. My mom is visiting, and she & I have been picking them every day (trying to get the perfectly ripe fruit before the squirrels do, or before they drop and are bruised by the fall onto the sidewalk).

So far we’ve been blanching and freezing them and canning them in halves and slices. We have made this fabulous zesty peach barbecue sauce (recipe below) and jars of amaretto peach nectar.

Next up, we still have to do some whiskey peach brown sugar compote, bourbon brown sugar peach jam, a peach-walnut conserve, some fermented habanero peach hot sauce, and spiced peach cordial with toasted coriander. Phew! I’m tired just typing all of that. 

I have been saving the peach pits to toast and infuse to make homemade noyeaux (which tastes a bit like amaretto), and will hopefully dehydrate some sliced peaches too.

Thank gods my mom brought me more canning jars! And that she’s taking over peach harvesting duty for awhile- we’re heading back to the UP in Michigan to camp and explore some more in a budget mini-vacation, and she’s holding down the fort at the Alewyfe Inn while we’re away.

I’ll be posting recipes for the rest soon, but here’s that peach BBQ sauce canning recipe, just in time for your late-summer cookouts! If your family likes this sauce as much as we do, you may want to put up extra for your summer cookouts next year before the peach crop comes in!

Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce Ingredients

How to Can Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce

Make Peach BBQ Sauce

• Cut peaches in half or quarters, remove skins and stones (if the skins don’t slip off easily, blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds). Freestone peaches are easier to pit but clingstone are fine for this recipe, since they don’t need to look pretty. Smaller pieces will cook faster and be easier to puree.
• Add all recipe ingredients to a large, heavy bottomed pot and stir well. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until the peaches and onions have softened (at least 20 minutes), stirring occasionally.
• Break up the peaches with a potato masher, heavy whisk, or large ladle if you have larger pieces. Uncover pot and continue to simmer and stir until the mixture is reduced by about half.
• Remove pot from heat, and either puree the sauce with an immersion blender (recommended) or process it in batches in a blender or food processor. Be careful when blending hot sauces and use a towel or hot pad to protect yourself from spatter or to hold down the lid of the blender.
• Return the sauce to the pot (if you didn’t use an immersion blender) and reduce more if necessary to reach a good consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
• Remove sauce from heat and either cool and freeze or immediately proceed to water-bath canning steps below (recommended)

Water-Bath Canning Instructions

• Fill your water bath canner with water to a height that will cover your jars by several inches with room to boil vigorously. .0
• Wash your jars and lids with hot soapy water, rinse, and place the jars (but not the lids) in the canner as you bring the water up to a simmer (do this while the bbq sauce is almost finished).
• Protect your work surface- I like to use a baking sheet pan lined with an old kitchen towel. Remove your canning jars from the canner (carefully, with tongs or jar lifters, tilting them out of the hot water) just before filling and place them on the sheet pan or counter lined with a towel- this helps protect them from temperature shocks and also makes for easier clean-up!
• Using a jar funnel if you have one, ladle the hot bbq sauce into the hot jars. Leave ½” of headspace at the top of the jars (leave slightly more room if you are using reusable-style lids with gaskets like Weck or Tattler).
• Debubble the jars with a thin spatula, spoon, or debubbling tool, and wipe the tops of the jars with a clean paper towel or lint-free cloth that has been dipped in hot water or vinegar.
• Place the canning lids on the clean jar tops and screw down the rings- don’t overtighten, just snug. Using your jar lifter, tongs, or the canning jar rack, carefully place the hot filled jars in the hot canner.
• Make sure you have adequate water covering the jars (at least 2″ over the tops of the jars). Top up with water from a hot kettle if needed.
• Start the timer for your water bath after the water is at a rolling boil and all jars are in the canner. Process for 15 minutes (adjust for altitude if applicable) and then turn off the heat.
• Set another timer for 5 minutes and leave jars in canner with the lid off.
• Remove jars from the canner after 5 minutes, and place back on the towel-covered sheet pan or counter (put down a fresh towel if you spilled while filling the jars).

Cool & Store your jars of sauce

• Leave jars to cool slowly in a draft-free place. Do not touch rings until the jars are completely cool and sealed and do not stack jars.
• After jars are cooled and seals are set (I leave them overnight), check that all jars are sealed, carefully wash jars, label them, and remove rings before storing.
• Sealed jars with metal lids will not flex when the seal is pressed, and the lid has a firm vacuum seal with the jar.
• Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed within 24 hours with new lids (check the jar tops again for chips and the ring for dents), or immediately refrigerated and used first.

Recipe Ideas & Serving Suggestions for Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce

• Use to baste grilled chicken, ribs, or pork chops, or serve with grilled steak
• Toss with fried, smoked, or grilled chicken wings for sweet & spicy peach hot wings (add some melted butter to the sauce to make them extra rich and delicious)
• Serve with smoked pulled pork for a sweet and spicy BBQ pork sandwich… toss some with the pulled pork or just serve it on the side (however your family likes it!)
• Make the best baked beans with cooked or canned beans and this sauce, or take it up a notch and make BBQ Beans with Little Smokies
• Makes a great skillet simmer sauce for chicken, turkey, pork, or even venison
• Add to browned ground beef or venison and onion and simmer until thick. Serve on deli rolls or hamburger buns to make sweet and spicy BBQ sloppy joe sandwiches
• Braise a pork loin or shoulder roast in your Instant Pot or dutch oven with a jar of this sauce and a cup or two of sliced or diced onion for an easy main dish
• Top your homemade pizza crust with this, diced cooked chicken, crumbled bacon, bell peppers, and pepper jack cheese to make a Zesty BBQ Peach Chicken pizza