RECIPE / BACON WRAPPED CHICKEN
Crispy bacon chicken with a savoury filling
BACON WRAPPED CHICKEN
filled with ricotta and sage
Easiest with chicken breast but boned out
thighs can also work. You will need to wrap
well with bacon.
PRODUCT QTY
Chicken breasts (approximately 180 – 220g)
(chicken Keiv has a wing bone also)
Bacon streaky rindless, Manuka smoked
Ricotta cheese
Fresh sage (4 leaves whole for garnish),
the rest chopped
Shallots, fine diced (onion also works)
Clove of fresh garlic minced
Salt
Pepper
Butter (diced and kept in fridge)
Olive oil (extra virgin is best but not
essential for this)
Marsala (fortified wine) or port/sherry 4
8 rashes
100g
50g
2 Tbsp
1
To taste
To taste
100g
4 Tbsp
150ml
RICOTTA MIX
In 1/2 the oil, saute the shallots and garlic until translucent, then
add chopped sage and remove from heat.
Once cooled add to ricotta and mix, taste for saltiness add salt
and pepper to taste if needed.
Chicken breast with fillet attached is best, remove fillet, where
fillet was slice lengthways 1/3 into depth of the flesh, hollow out
a ‘pocket’.
Gently flatten (bat out) between two pieces of cling film to
evenly spread the fillet bigger. Discard the top clingfilm.
Spoon on 1/4 of the ricotta mix and cover with flattened fillet.
(don’t try to make it too big, its got to fit into your ‘pocket’)
Take your fillet ricotta parcel and gently manourve it into the
pocket, if theres a join make sure it is on the inside.
Wrap one piece of bacon around, then place your whole sage
leaf and wrap your other rash of bacon further up.
At this point you can roll tightly in clingfilm and refrigerate or
cook it.
Preheat oven to 200ºC.
In a hot clean (oven proof) pan add the rest of your oil, then sear
the topside (presentation side) 2 – 3 minutes until golden, then
roll each breast over.
Place the whole pan into a hot oven (if you have wooden handle
pans, place into a hot deep sided metal tray).
Chef’s Corner
PRO TIPS:
In restaurants we would fill and wrap, then roll tightly
in cling film and refridgerate overnight to set the
protein into a cylinder shape for presentation.
To make this the Italian classic ‘saltimbocca’ replace
bacon with its fancy cousin Proscuitto.
Traditionally saltimbocca was made from veal (more
common with chicken now).
Fry in a pan then deglaze with oil, butter and marsala,
reduce to make a sauce and serve.
This dish has the essence of that classic but with the
addition of the ricotta filling.
Chef Justin
Roast for 15 – 20 minutes depending on size of breast and
consistency of your ovens temperature. Raw (ish) chicken
is dangerous!
Remove pan from the oven, place cooked breasts in another
container (resting tray) to rest for minimum 10 minutes. Cover
with tinfoil. Don’t throw the pan away.
Return the pan to the stove, add your alcohol and start reducing
(boiling). Whilst reducing slice your breasts and return to resting
tray and cover.
Once reduced by 2/3’s turn heat down low. Grab a whisk and
slowly add cold butter, whisking fairly briskly, making sure to
get all meat and flavour stuck on pan.
Don’t boil it but keep it warm ready to serve. Remember to add
the juices from the resting tray.
Boom your Marsala sauce!
Place your sliced chicken and pour sauce over the top, serve.
TIP:
If it splits (curdles), in a clean pot add cream reduce and whisk
in your split sauce.
Buon Apetito!
Recipe by Justin Rimmer
4
YOU HAD ME AT BACON