My bad ass chicken recipe
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts, filleted and pounded flat (you can also use chicken cutlets)
- Crumbled feta cheese (Crumbled blue will also work0
- Baby spinach
- Fresh Garlic, pressed, to taste
- Bacon (thick or thin cut depending on cooking method)
- Stuffing (optional depending on cooking method)*
- Bamboo skewers
Method: Preparation
Take the chicken fillets or cutlets and pound them flat, if they seem to be to thick to work with. Do not pound them so flat that they have holes in them or you will have problems later. I find that an empty beer bottle seems to do the trick.
Put a layer of spinach leaves on the chicken.
Put some crumbled cheese and pressed garlic in the center of the chicken. You want just enough that you can roll the chicken up without it leaking out all over the place. Make sure you tuck the ends of the chicken so as to create a cheese and spinach filled chicken roll-up.
Take the skewers and use them to hold the chicken shut, it should take about 3 - 4 per chicken. Trim the skewers so that there is only about 1/2 an inch sticking out on each side.
Take the bacon and wrap tightly around the chicken. Don't wrap so tightly that you rip the bacon or squeeze the stuff out.
Set chicken aside and move on to the next one, until they are all wrapped up nice and neat, like so:
Method: Cooking
There are two cooking methods that I have used for this dish, grilling and baking.
Grilling:
I originally cooked this on the grill. I used a medium low heat and put the chicken as far away from the flame as I could, because as the fat in the bacon renders you will get some vicious flare ups. Try to abate the flames as best as you can but keep in mind that the bacon serves two purposes in this cooking method. First as bacon cooks it will tighten up on the chicken, sealing in the juices and melting cheese. Second, and the reason why you want thicker bacon, it protects if from the flames. Cook the chicken until you get a 165 internal temperature.
When it is done cooking, pull it off the grill and let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes. Either remove the skewers or warn your diners that they are there (this is very important when grilling as the ends tend to burn off). The bacon can either be eaten or discarded. It should be rather charred and crispy on the outside but still tasty....
(I will add pictures when I get them for this method)
Baking:
I have adapted a second cooking method for this dish, baking. To bake the chicken I use a 375 degree oven. I take the chicken and put it in a Pyrex dish full of stuffing. For this method thinner bacon is better as it will crisp up in the oven quicker than thicker bacon will. Cooking time is around 45 minutes but varies depending on the size of the chicken rolls (cook to an internal temperature of 165). At about the half way point I flip the chicken, for even cooking. When done, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 - 10 minutes. Remove skewers or warn diners that they are there.
*A note on stuffing. I often cheat with stuffing and will make boxed stuffing, unless i have the time to make my own. I have found Bell's Stuffing to be one of the few commercially available stuffing's that does not have High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. I am not sure why stuffing needs HFCS in it but I don't want it. That crap is everywhere and I try my best to avoid it. Also when making boxed stuffing I like adding sauteed onions and some diced up crispy apples (granny smith, honeycrisp, pink ladys etc...). I also replace the water with beer or chicken broth. When baking it uncovered like I am in this recipe I tend to add a touch more water than what is called for.
Sorry for being so wordy but this is my baby and I wanted to treat her right. If you have any questions about it, please ask in the comments and I will try my best to answer them.
Here is the finished product from last night with some Bell's Stuffing and some steamed Asparagus with pressed garlic thrown in the steamer bag.
Bon Appétit
