Every once in a while we come a reader who is bound and determined to make a pin work despite all the odds being against them.
Today is one of those days.
Kathy sent us this recipe for some awesome bacon chicken combo that didn't have near enough info to be feasible, with a little stick-to-it-ive-ness and a turkey baster there is nothing this woman can't do!
Check it out!
The Original
http://diaryofarecipeaddict.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweet-spicy-bacon-chicken.html
Chicken+Bacon...does life get any better? I submit that it does not. Anyone know who that is from?!
Here is Kathy's version, and how she got here:
The Pinstrosity
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"I love to try new Pinterest recipes and was truly excited to try the recipe for Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken The picture looked amazing and who doesn't love bacon?!
Well, first of all, there were no measurements included in this recipe, just a list of ingredients, not specifying how much of each. But, no problem, after reading follow-up comments, I seasoned it according to my family's taste. I also pounded the chicken pieces first, because the chicken pieces were too thick to cook evenly (another tip I picked up from follow-up comments, as recipe did not include this procedure). I planned on baking this, as specified in the posted recipe (bake at 400 deg. F), although the blogger did mention that she prefers to grill it. After prepping as specified, I put it in the oven and was anxious to see the results. About 10 min. before the chicken was supposed to be done, I checked on it (mainly to see if bacon was crisping). The[picture attached] will show you what I saw. All the chicken pieces were sitting in a huge puddle of grease (from both the bacon & chicken combined). I knew the bacon would never crisp sitting in a pool of grease like that and I didn't want the chicken to soak up all that grease either; so I used a turkey baster and bowl to remove the majority of the grease from the pan. Three bowls later, the pan was mostly dry and ready to return to oven. I cooked it for an additional 10 min (which would have been 40 min. in total) but bacon was still not crisp enough. Since I didn't want the chicken to dry out like a hockey puck, I turned on the broiler for a few minutes and bacon finally crisped up the way it should. After transferring the chicken to a clean serving platter, the final result did closely resemble what the finished dish was supposed to look like.
Summary: The [original picture], shows this recipe being baked on a cookie sheet. With that much grease accumulating during the cooking process, that would have been an oven-cleaning nightmare. The blogger said that she cooks this recipe on the grill. I can only imagine how many flame flare-ups that would cause with all the dripping grease. I'm certain we would have had a visit from the local fire department if we even attempted to grill this. After all is said and done, I will admit the flavor was not bad (but everything tastes better with bacon). I may even make it again; but I will retype the recipe to include "de-greasing" the pan during the cooking process."
I give major props to Kathy for fixing the recipe to her liking, and NOT having the fire department called! Not that the original had this problem, but at my house grease plus heat usually equals an emergency of some sort.
There is definitely something to be said for a woman on a mission, and it doesn't hurt that this mission included bacon at the end. This wasn't so much a case of a recipe being a Pinstrosity as it was a recipe that had a little tweak and turned out great. This just goes to show that a little ingenuity and some elbow grease (literally) can go a long way!
Well done Kathy! It looks delicious! My hubby and I will probably try this one out this week!
Does anyone have any bacon+chicken recipes that will rock our socks?! Let us know! we love your feedback!!
Happy Wednesday Pinstrosipeeps!
Cooking is always better when the local fire department does not have to be involved ;-)
ReplyDeleteWould cooking it on cooling rack help? Get it out of the grease and the air flow might crisp the bacon
ReplyDeleteI had the same idea. Put the cooling rack on a cookie sheet to catch the dripping grease. You could even line the cookie sheet with tin foil to make clean up easier.
DeleteI'm thinking liped baking pan with a bakers cooling rack should take care of the grease problem
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest the same thing as Vertigo. Just put the bacon on a broiler pan or a metal cooling rack. Much easier than trying to suck up very hot bacon grease with a turkey baster.
ReplyDeleteI have made this as well as bacon wrapped shrimp. I bake mine in the oven on a cooling rack in a cookie sheet and the last 5 minutes or so (watch it here) I put it in the broiler. When I had a gas oven, I would simply leave the oven set at 375 but now that I have an electric, I broil it. During the broil part it has to be watched. When making the shrimp, I wrap the shrimp put on skewers and then freeze for about 30 minutes. Then I broil them or on the grill but there are flame ups on the grill. With the chicken, I used tenders as is and baked first then broiled to crisp up the bacon.
DeleteI've made these, and learned that you need to put them on a roasting rack! Turns out perfectly if you do that.
ReplyDelete--Julie
like vertigo1414 said, try putting them on a cooling rack on the cookie sheet so the grease drains off. we do that to cook bacon in the oven and it works great. broiler pans also do a great job
ReplyDeleteI line my cookie sheet with foil, then put a cooling rack to hold the bacon-wrapped chicken. The grease drips through the rack, and the foil makes the clean up a lot easier. It DOES take a while to cook to get crispy enough, and I usually end up using the broiler at the end. (I didn't click through to the recipe, but I assume this is the one with brown sugar and chili powder -- yummy! I had a guest one time who didn't eat sugar so I did some just sprinkling with Slap Ya Mama seasoning instead of sugar/chili powder. They were good, too!)
ReplyDeleteAnything I've ever wrapped in bacon works well cooked on a broiler pan or a pan with a roasting rack inside.... It just lets the grease drip down below! :) Can't wait to try chicken and bacon! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Vertigo1414 - I've made similar food and I always elevate it on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet to keep it out of the grease. Of course, we always trim off the bottom strip of fat on the bacon (I know, it's probably a little ridiculous trying to make bacon healthy, but we do what we can!) so there's not as much grease to accumulate either.
ReplyDeleteWhen I make bacon wrapped chicken I use thick cut and I grill it with a propane grill. The only problem I have is sometimes the bacon wants to slide off. I fix that with LOTS of toothpicks. And as for seasoning, ranch mix makes a nice flavor.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing, cooking on a cooling rack or broiler pan so the dripping grease has somewhere to go. I recently pinned this to try, so thanks for the warning.
ReplyDeleteI bet a broiler pan would work wonderfully with this. I think I might try it out for dinner!
ReplyDeleteI would suggest using a broiler pan so you don't have to "de-grease" by hand. The grease just drops into the catch pan below. I make bratwurst and other meats this way. Especially when it's too chilly to be outside grilling. Something similar to this should do: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Nordic-Ware-Brolier-Pan/13370062
ReplyDelete"Chicken+Bacon...does life get any better? I submit that it does not. Anyone know who that is from?!" - Brian Regan :)
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that doing it in a roasting pan with a rack on top would work (the kind they have on display around Thanksgiving). It would allow the grease to drip down into the roasting pan and avoid the turkey baster element.
ReplyDelete"...does life get any better? I submit that it does not. Anyone know who that is from?!"
ReplyDeleteFrom one of the greatest comedians of all time. :)
Would you be able to cook it on a broiler pan? That way the grease would drip into the pan underneath...?
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is so yummy!!! I use less brown sugar as my husband doesn't like sweet chicken anyways and I cook it with a combination of foreman grill (so it is cooked on both sides and the grease drips down) and baking in the oven. Also could bake it on a rack inside a pan so that the chicken is not sitting in the middle of lots of liquid.
ReplyDeleteI love the recipe I found on Pintrest for bacon wrapped chicken....it has cream cheese, garlic salt, Italian seasoning and sun dried tomatoes in the middle and bacon wrapped around it...yummo!
ReplyDeleteCould you not put them on a roasting rack or baking rack over a cookie sheet to catch the grease?
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest a cooling rack on a cookie sheet as well! Great minds!
ReplyDeleteA chicken+bacon recipe I love to fix is chicken with a deseeded jalapeno half and cream cheese wrapped in bacon. So yummy! I also use a pan that has holes in it that goes on top of another one that catches the grease....Not sure what you would call it but it keeps it from sitting in all that grease while it cooks!
ReplyDeleteI make this recipe all the time and love it! It is not a healthy recipe, but my family loves it anyway. :-) And of course I found it on Pinterest.
ReplyDeleteThat's some seriously lean bacon they're using- anybody suspect it's maybe turkey bacon or some of that pre-cooked microwave bacon? (Microwave bacon isn't nearly as fatty as the traditional variety, so it'd do nicely on a grill.)
ReplyDeleteProbably brand of bacon has a lot to do with outcome as well. I've found that the more expensive the bacon the less fat tends to render when it's cooked. I use Neuskies when I need a lean bacon with good flavor and trend toward whatever is cheapest at the time when I need some fat (like for chowder or corn bread).
ReplyDeleteOh no! Not my favorite Pinterest recipe! I make this every few months- I modified the recipe to work for me. (About 350- for 1 hour). I cook it in a casserole dish lined with foil. When the chicken is done, you remove each piece with tongs, onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the fat/oil. Once you let it drain for a few minutes, the bacon is quite crispy around the chicken actually. I made it for a dinner part one time, and it was a hit! I also use McCormick grill mates Chicken Montreal Seasoning & brown sugar. I use Gwaltney thick cut bacon.
ReplyDeleteI think what might help is to half-way cook the bacon first, blot it, and then wrap it around the chicken. Also yes, don't bake in a pyrex pan. Cook it on a cookie sheet with a rack.
ReplyDeleteThis is the number one requested recipe in my house...I have never had any problems with grease. Here is the recipe I have:
ReplyDeleteSweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken
4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)
Bacon slices
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
chili powder
brown sugar
Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish....make sure you have some olive oil in the dish too, like 2 or 3 tablespoons is fine {I skipped this since I grilled them. I honestly think you could coat your dish with nonstick cooking spray instead to save a few calories}.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy.