Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Last summer while making Jalapeno & Cream Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes I thought – I should stuff this filling into a chicken breast and grill it! And I did a few weeks later. BUT there was a little problem with the stuffing. It kinda oozed out.
Dontcha just love the “sizzle” when your first put bacon wrapped anything on the grill??
I thought of that the other day as I was reviewing my notes and decided to try it again. I knew I had to figure it out! Thinking about the Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers I make, I decided to wrap my chicken breasts in bacon to help hold in the filling, and I also decided to chill the filling prior to stuffing the chicken. I am happy to report “mission accomplished”!! As you can imagine, this was de-li-cious! The taste of grilled food with the pop of the jalapeno cream stuffed inside the chicken and wrapped in crispy salty bacon – oh my gosh…did I mention bacon!! I served these beauties alongside corn stuffed tomatoes and zucchini fritters. Yummalicious!!
My Mom was very happy she popped over for a swim and discovered it was dinner time. Hey…food is love right? Who do you love?? Invite them over and whip this up, I’m thinking, after they clean their plate, they just might love you a little bit extra!!
Enjoy! ~ Colleen
Bacon-wrapped chicken is flavorful, stuff with jalapenos and BAMMO! it's great.
Ingredients
- 2 jalapenos, quartered (more or less according to your preference - we like it hot so I include the seeds and stems)
- 8 oz of cream cheese
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 6-12 strips of raw bacon (depends on the size of your chicken breasts)
Instructions
- Cut the jalapenos into quarters, discarding the top, stems and seeds. (I do use the stems and seeds for added heat - your call). Pulse in your food process until minced, add in the cream cheese and pulse until combined. Scrape into a small bowl and pop into the freezer for 20 minutes or so.
- Prep chicken breasts by slicing a pocket lengthwise down the length of the chicken. Season chicken breast with salt and pepper on all surfaces. When ready to stuff, place a a good amount of filling inside each chicken breast, spread it out along the whole pocket with your fingers, then mash it in place. It will not close fully, it's OK. Wrap two slices of bacon around the entire breast and grill over medium high heat until done, flipping once. Grill about 8 minutes per side - more or less depending on the thickness of your chicken - until the internal temperature reaches approximately 160°F degrees. Remove and allow the chicken to cool for a few minutes before serving
Notes
If you are not cooking this right away, place stuffed breasts into the fridge for up to 8 hours until you are ready to grill.
This recipe prepared for Char-Broil by Colleen Kennedy of SouffleBombay.com
QUESTION: Doesn’t the bacon either flare up or provide a great deal of grease to deal with?
If your prepare the bacon a bit first, say in the microwave – much of the fat is rendered out. AND when cooking on the grill, use the indirect method of roasting, so the food is not directly over the heat source.
Does that help? ~ Barry ‘CB’ Martin
Don’t grill over direct heat.
When I stuff and wrap chicken breasts, I cut them all the way through down to the small end. Kind of like filleting a fish. This way the stuffing can be applied to the whole area, rather than just the pocket. Wrapped properly with several tooth picks keeps the stuffing in, as long as it’s not over filled. If you have problems, wrap the filling in thin sandwich meat slices to keep in place a little better.
EXCELLENT TIP Rob!
~ Barry ‘CB’ Martin
How do you keep from getting fat? Every time I do stuff like this I start adding pounds onto my gut. Don’t tell me to use fat free, it that like ‘Minny’s Chocolate Pie” from the movie “The Help”
I’d like to see the tomatoe stuffed w/ jalopeno recipe!
Wait, what ? corn stuffed tomatoes??? where is THAT one?
I loved this recipe. To add a little flair I brushed on some Grand Marnier. Big hit with our friends.
I wonder if this would be as good pan fried or baked. What does the grilling do for the recipe?