Whiskey Steeped and Smoked Peaches over Vanilla Ice Cream

For those holiday parties and gatherings where you just don’t feel like sitting near a grill making sure the temperature is just right, we thought we would lay down a dessert recipe that keeps you cool, no matter what time of year. This dessert recipe should be a bit hit with many of your adult-age friends.

One heads up for this recipe though: If you can manage, steep the peaches at least a couple of hours before the peaches go to the smoker or grill. The longer they steep, the more time the Fireball whiskey has to infuse every inch of your peaches with spicy flavor!

Whiskey-Steeped & Smoked Peaches Over Vanilla Ice Cream Ingredients and Tools

• 4 – 6 Freestone Peaches
• 1.5 Cups Water
• 1 Cup Fireball Whiskey
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar
• 2 TB Cinnamon
• 1 TB Cayenne (optional)
• 1 Container of Your Favorite Vanilla Ice Cream
• Large Glass Bowl or Baking Dish
• Large Steel Pot
• Honey (optional)

Prep Step One: Mix your water and whiskey into a large pot over medium high heat until they reach 190F. Pour into a large glass bowl or baking dish

Prep Step Two:  Slice your peaches in half, removing the pits as you go. You can keep the skin on or off, your choice. Place them into the glass bowl or dish with the whiskey and water and steep for no less than an hour.

Prep Step Three: After you have determined the ideal time for steeping your peaches, remove them from the liquid mix and pour the mix out. Mix your white sugar and cinnamon in a small container. Place the peaches back in the bowl and toss them with the cinnamon sugar mix and cayenne until evenly covered.

Prepping Your Smoker For Peach Cooking

Stating the obvious, there is a LOT of sugar in peaches, and when you steep them in alcohol that also has high sugar content, you want to keep your smoker from higher temperatures to avoid making your ingredients taste bitter. Sugar begins tasting bitter around 350F, so keep your smoker temperature well below it at all times. We’re looking for caramelization, not carbonization! So set your temp between 225F and 250F.

Smoked peaches will taste the best with a lighter fruitwood as your smoker fuel, so fill your smoker with either cherry, apple or pecan woods.

Since raw peaches pose absolutely no danger, you don’t need them to reach a certain temperature. You just want to check on them periodically to make sure the fruit flesh isn’t burning. So if you have a good quality smoke going at a low temperature, you might be able to smoke the peaches for an hour or more to really let that savory flavor take hold. But don’t let them go too long, because the fruit will soften to the point that it may come apart and fall between the grill grates.

As you keep an eye on the smoking process, if you feel like you want to brush a bit of honey on the peaches while they smoke, do that once or twice, then pull the peach halves off of the smoker and set aside to cool a bit. Otherwise, the honey can make a great topping as you combine everything before serving.

The last and easiest step: combine the peach halves over ice cream, drip a bit of honey over it all (or your favorite topping, nearly everything will taste pretty good with it) and serve and enjoy!

This recipe can also be done using a standard gas or charcoal grill, just make sure that you place the peach halves in an indirect heat area. Then you just use some wood chips and foil, or a smoke box that can go on top or just underneath your grill surface. Here’s our resident grilling and smoking expert, Chef Jason, to explain the options!