Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts

Everyone loves bacon, at least in our house!!! Combine it with chicken breast and you have a winner. I have adapted this recipe from a wonderful recipe book we have called "Mastering the Grill" by Andrew Schloss and David Joachim. I have included a link with information about the book.

http://books.google.ca/books/about/Mastering_the_Grill.html?id=oDO8mAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y


The actual recipe is for quail, so I adapted it for chicken breasts as they are easier to find in the  grocery store. As I seem to have a bad habit of buying buttermilk, and then forgetting about it, I was glad to find this recipe. Besides using up the buttermilk, it produces a moist, tender chicken breast.

First marinade the chicken:

Combine:
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch of chili flakes

Pour the marinade into a large resealable bag, and add 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Press the air out and seal the bag, and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

I have frozen the chicken at this point. Defrost before proceeding.

Make the rub by combining the following spices with 1/4 cup of brown sugar:

2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons mustard powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Remove the breasts from the marinade, allowing the  excess to drip off. Sprinkle the rub onto both sides of the breasts.

There will be extra rub, store this in an airtight container for another time.

Wrap each breast with bacon, using one strip of bacon per breast. I find it works best if you start wrapping at the wider end of the breast (where the wing would be), and work your way down, gently stretching the bacon as you go.

Secure the bacon with a toothpick.

In a hot pan, place the breasts, toothpick side up, and sear.

Turn them over and sear the second side, then place in the oven at 350F and bake until cooked through.







Remove the toothpick before serving!

• If you want to make gravy, remove the seared breasts from  the pan, placing in another dish to finish baking. Use the searing pan to make the gravy, as it has all the flavour from the bacon and the rub to contribute...
• This recipe works well with a whole chicken. Instead of wrapping the entire bird, just lay the bacon slices across the breast. This keeps the white meat moist while roasting.
• The extra rub can be used for things such as flavouring roasted potatoes, a quick rub for kebabs, or add a pinch or two to rice while it cooks.