Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts on the Traeger grill are a great summer weekend dinner option that the whole family will love. Wrapping boneless chicken breasts in bacon is a great way to ensure that the chicken remains tender and juicy when cooked. No dry chicken here!
Yield: 4 SERVINGS
Prep Time: 10 MINUTES
Cook Time: 20 MINUTES
Total Time: 30 MINUTES
✅ INGREDIENTS
- 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 12-16 slices of bacon
- salt and pepper, to taste
✅ INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat Traeger grill to 375 degrees F. Place a non-stick mat on the rack if desired.
- Trim chicken breasts, season them well, then wrap 2-3 slices of bacon around each chicken breast. Try to cover the entire chicken with the bacon.
- Place bacon-covered chicken breasts into the air fryer basket, making sure not to overlap them.
- Cook 18-20 minutes until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken breasts reads 160 degrees F. Turn over halfway through cooking.
- Allow chicken breasts to sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving to redistribute juices.
Bacon-wrapped Chicken Breasts are a great dinner option, but they also make great leftovers during the week.
You can grill a big batch of bacon-wrapped chicken breasts on Saturday or Sunday then have lunches for several days.
KEY TO SUCCESS #1 – NO THICK CUT BACON
While the chicken is very important to the success of this recipe, you’ve also got to consider the bacon.
I love thick-cut Wright-brand bacon, but it is not the right choice for this recipe.
Thick-cut bacon takes too long to cook.
You’ll either end up with undercooked bacon or overcooked chicken.
Choose high-quality thin cut bacon, or regular cut bacon, for this easy Traeger grill recipe.
Use two or three slices of bacon per chicken breast.
The number of bacon slices will depend on the size of the breasts.
You want to fully cover the chicken breasts with bacon if at all possible.
More bacon coverage means juicier chicken breasts.
You can secure the bacon with a few toothpicks if the bacon is starting to slide off or come unwrapped.
This is a great option if you want your chicken breasts to look neat and pretty, but it is completely optional.
KEY TO SUCCESS #2 – USE A MEAT THERMOMETER TO MONITOR THE TEMPERATURE
With some Traeger models, such as the Ironwood 650, you can remotely monitor the temperature of your meat while it is cooking using temperature probes.
There is an app for your phone that will allow you to keep track of both the temperature inside the grill and the internal temperature of the chicken.
If your Traeger grill does not have this feature, you can pick up a Bluetooth meat thermometer with a remote display on Amazon for $50-$60.
Insert the temperature probe into the center of the smallest cut of meat.
If you insert the probe into the largest chicken breast, you are likely to overcook the smaller chickens.
Remove the smaller chicken breasts when they reach 160 degrees F then move the probe to one of the larger breasts.
I always keep an instant-read thermometer on hand to double-check the internal temperature of the meat that I am cooking.
With the probes that you leave in the meat, it can be inaccurate if it is not perfectly in the center of the meat.
Better to be safe than sorry.
KEY TO SUCCESS #3 – REST 5-10 MINUTES BEFORE SLICING
Chicken breasts are cooked to a safe temperature when it reaches 160 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
Dark meat chicken needs to cook slightly longer.
When the chicken breasts reach 160 degrees F on a thermometer, remove them from the heat and allow them to sit uncovered on a tray for 5-10 minutes before you slice it.
This will allow the juices to redistribute so that you will have juicy chicken throughout.
Make sure you place the chicken on a surface that will catch any drippings.
If you place the chicken on a flat surface without a lip to catch the juice, you are likely to end up with a mess in your kitchen.
I like to go ahead and put my chicken breasts on my serving platter and allow them to rest until I am ready to serve dinner.
Use a sharp serrated knife to cut through the bacon and chicken.
If you are not planning on eating the bacon, you can remove it from the chicken before serving.
I would recommend leaving the bacon on the leftovers though because it will keep them extra moist and flavorful.
When reheating the bacon-wrapped chicken breasts, I prefer to slice the cold chicken and bacon then heat it up in the microwave or in a pan.
This method of slicing then heating will result in juicier chicken every time.
👇👇👇 Our android app(Click Image) 👇👇👇
0 comments:
Post a Comment