Hunters Chicken

Chicken breast, wrapped in bacon, smothered in tangy barbecue sauce and topped with melted cheese. A British pub classic that you can easily make at home for a quick weeknight dinner.
No pans are needed – we cook it all right in the baking dish.
Use shop-bought barbecue sauce, or you can make my 10 minute homemade BBQ sauce.

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Sitting in a pub garden on a hot day eating Hunters chicken with a pile of salty chips and a cold beer.
I can’t wait for those days. Hopefully soon we can all be enjoying family meals out again.

In the meantime, I’m controlling the cravings by making it at home. Sometimes with chips, or sometimes with a big bowl of buttery mashed potato.

I love how quick and easy this recipe is – a few minutes of prep, then the oven does all the work.

📋 What do we need?

• Chicken – chicken breasts are best, as thighs are a little small. Be sure to trip the chicken breast of any fatty bits you don’t want to eat.
• BBQ sauce – you can use homemade BBQ sauce or store-bought.
• Bacon – use rindless streaky bacon – these thin strips are best for wrapping around the chicken
• Cheese – I use a mixture of grated mozzarella (gives a nice stretch) and strong cheddar (for flavour).

👩‍🍳PRO TIP If you’re using shop-bought BBQ sauce you can pep it up with a little honey, smoked paprika and/or chilli powder for a sweet, smoky or spicy version (you could use one, two or all three if you like!).

Just 5 ingredients and 30 minutes you’ve got a family-pleasing dinner on the table.

Also, if you’ve never tried it, a hunters chicken wrap is a real crowd please too!
To make this, cut the cooked hunters chicken into slices and serve hot in tortilla wraps or soft flatbreads with crispy lettuce and red onion 👌

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5 from 30 votes

Hunters Chicken

By Nicky Corbishley

Chicken breast, wrapped in bacon, smothered in barbecue sauce and topped with melted cheese. A British pub classic, easy to make at home!

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, British

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 chicken breasts
• ▢ 8 rashers/strips streaky bacon smoked or unsmoked – your preference
• ▢ 240 ml (1 cup) BBQ sauce Use good quality store-bought, or my quick homemade BBQ sauce (I used homemade).

Also:

• ▢ 50 g (1/2 packed cup) grated/shredded mature cheddar cheese
• ▢ 50 g (1/2 packed cup) grated/shredded mozzarella cheese

To serve:

• ▢ chips or mashed potatoes
• ▢ veggies such as carrots, green beans or broccoli

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (fan).
• Wrap each chicken breast in two rashers/strips of bacon and place in a shallow baking dish.
  4 chicken breasts, 8 rashers/strips streaky bacon
• Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes – until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.
• Remove the dish with the chicken from the oven. Spoon the BBQ sauce on and around the chicken.
  240 ml (1 cup) BBQ sauce
• Sprinkle the chicken with the cheddar and mozzarella.
  50 g (1/2 packed cup) grated/shredded mature cheddar cheese, 50 g (1/2 packed cup) grated/shredded mozzarella cheese
• Place back in the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
• Serve the chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables.
  chips or mashed potatoes, veggies

Video

Notes

Can I make it ahead?

It tastes best right out of the oven – that’s when the cheese and is nice and melty and the chicken is lovely and tender.

If you did want to make it ahead though, you can cook the chicken-wrapped-in-bacon (don’t add the sauce or cheese), then allow the dish to cool (try to do this quickly, in a cool room, so it’s only out for 15 or 20 minutes). At this point you can add the sauce and cheese then cover and refrigerate for a day.

Remove from the fridge an hour before you want to re-heat it to take the chill off, then reheat, covered, in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 200C/400F – until the chicken is piping hot throughout. 

Ingredient swaps

Swap out the cheddar and mozzarella combination for your favourite cheese. Some good options are:

• • Crumbled Lancashire, Cheshire or Wensleydale for a bit of tangy-ness
  • Gouda or Gruyere for a slight nutty flavour
  • Crumbled Stilton if you’re a blue-cheese lover

Nutritional information is per serving, NOT including side dishes of potatoes or vegetables.

Nutrition

Calories: 621kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 188mg | Sodium: 993mg | Potassium: 1147mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 680IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 192mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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