Fixins:

1 28 oz jar Sweet Baby Rays (I would recommend against substitution here)
2 medium granny smith apples (or your favorite tart apple)
1 medium red delicious (or your favorite sweet apple)
1 tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 small serrano or habeñaro pepper, or 1 dash of Tabasco. (Choose your hotness)
2 lbs chicken breast (4-6 pieces)
cooking oil
1 clove garlic, chopped

Fixing:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the apples up into large bite size pieces. I like to have about 6 pieces per chicken breast, so use that as an approximate measure depending on how many pieces of chicken you have.

In a large saucepan, combine about 24 oz of the barbecue sauce, the apple pieces, vinegar, brown sugar, chili powder, and pepper (or pepper sauce). Bring to almost boiling. Simmer uncovered at a very low heat for 20-25 minutes. Once the apples are soft enough to mash with a fork/spoon, but still firm enough to retain their shape, remove from heat and cover.

While waiting for the sauce to finish, prepare a non-stick, or foil lined baking sheet by placing a tablespoon size dollop of the remaining barbecue sauce for each chicken breast. You can make the foil tent now (see below) as well, if you like. (Pro tip: The foil tent can be prepared up to 10 years in advance if properly stored).

Heat a few tablespoons of cooking oil until very hot. Water droplets splashed onto the oil should vaporize instantly. Toss the chopped garlic in for just a few seconds to extract the flavor, and fry the chicken breasts, 2-3 at a time, JUST until they have a nice brown color on each side. About 2-3 minutes per side. The chicken will NOT be cooked through, so please handle as you would raw chicken. Place each browned breast, lovingly, in the spots you previously created for them.

Spoon the Apple Barbecue sauce mixture evenly over all the chicken breasts, and cover with a foil tent. Essentially, you are bending and molding the aluminum foil so that direct, dry heat is not hitting the chicken and sauce, but the foil is also not touching the chicken or sauce… experiment a bit for your favorite way to do this. You can also use a metal cake pan if you have one as large as your baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temparature of 165 degrees.

Notes

I usually make this with oven broiled asparagus seasoned with rock salt, and hard irish cheddar. This is a very sweet, and very spicy dish, so the saltiness contrasts well with it. A nice big baked potato with cheese and sour cream goes quite well with this as well.

You can also make this on the grill, though make sure to use foil, and make a “ridge” so as not to lose all the sauce, as it does begin to run.