Bacon Wrapped Chicken Kabobs

Everything is better with bacon. So I’ve heard… I like to keep bacon on hand to add to recipes that need a little extra kick. It doesn’t take much – a slice or two of delicious bacon, judiciously used, can go a long way. This past winter, I was part of a meat CSA (community supported agriculture) through Brandon and Lisa Higgins at C-Saw Hill Farm. Every month, I would get a box of meat from their farm – some chicken, some beef, some pork, a dozen eggs … and, every once in a while, I got to test out some amazing homemade bacon. Wow. 

BACON! Thank you, Brandon…

If you can get your hands on some local bacon, it will be worth every penny. If you are daring, perhaps you might even want to try to make your own… Men’s Health Magazine posted an interesting how-to earlier in the year. If you don’t want to make your own bacon and you don’t have a farmer friend who wants to test out his bacon skills on you, the best bacon to buy is something made from hormone and antibiotic free, pasture-raised, certified humane pork, cured – meaning they used only curing salts and spices, no nitrates, nitrites, or scary sounding preservatives. For this recipe, I used bacon from Applegate Farms.

So, now for the good stuff… Bacon Wrapped Chicken Kabobs. Yum. I first tried this out at my parents’ house this summer. The only difference was that I used turkey. Turkey or chicken both work really well. Buy your own chicken or turkey breast, cut them into small chunks, or even save some time and buy your chicken or turkey already kabob’d and waiting for you at your favorite local grocery store. Here in Charlotte, we have a few options for good meat, semi-prepared. Check out the Spedie’s Chicken Kabobs at Reid’s Fine Foods if you are interested in a short-cut or stop by the brand new Whole Foods Charlotte opening up on Wednesday. The chicken is pre-skewered and ready for your special touch (bacon!) …

PART 1 … Marinate the Chicken 

I like to prepare my chicken early in the day or the night before and let it sit in a nice marinade. Pick a marinade. Any marinade. Most of my super simple marinades usually look something like this …

– 2 or 3 tablespoons vinegar (white wine, champagne, red, balsamic, etc.)
– 1/4 cup or so olive oil
– 2 to 3 teaspoons dried herbs
– 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

Combine ingredients in a large freezer bag, shake to combine. Add chicken. Squeeze the chicken around in the marinade so it is nice and coated. Toss in the fridge for a day or the freezer for a couple of weeks.

PART 2 … Prepare the Kabobs

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Kabobs On The Grill

Grab some skewers and set aside. Cut strips of bacon in half. I use 1/2 of a slice of bacon per piece of chicken. Wrap the chicken in the bacon and stab it with the skewer. Slide it down and make room for your next piece of chicken or veggie.

I like to alternate my chicken with veggies – use anything! Mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, squash, peppers … they all work really well on the grill. I need to buy less meat and it’s an easy way to make an all-in-one meal. Win-win.

PART 3 … Grill It! (Or cook it on the stovetop…)

These kabobs are best grilled! Heat the grill to medium high. Grill the kabobs about 10 minutes and then turn the kabobs to crisp up the other side – also for about 10 minutes. Poke the chicken with a skewer to see if it is cooked through. The juices should run clear if the chicken is fully cooked.

These kabobs are best cooked on the grill but one day I did run out of propane and had to resort to cooking them on the stovetop. I used a very large skillet and cooked them for about 10 minutes on each side over medium high heat. It worked out just fine! 

Serve with your favorite salad and enjoy!