Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Instructions:
Dried fruit and bacon are a perfect combination for chicken breasts. 3â„4 cup fi nely chopped dried apricots 1â„2 cup fi nely chopped dried cranberries 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary leaves 2 teaspoons olive oil 1â„2 teaspoon ground black pepper Four 5- to 6-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts 8 bacon slices
Makes 4 servings
- Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix the apricots, cranberries, rosemary, olive oil, and pepper in a small bowl.
- To create a pocket in one of the breasts, put it on the work surface, smooth side up. Eye the thickest part of one of its long sides and insert a paring knife there with the blade parallel to the work surface. Slip the knife from side to side, thereby making small cuts back and forth in the meat without cutting through to the other side or out the ends. Take your time—don’t be impatient. Once you have created a slitlike pocket, repeat with the remaining breasts.
- Gently pry the pockets open with your fi ngers, then stuff about one-quarter of the dried fruit fi lling into each. Wrap 2 slices of bacon completely around each breast so that the strips pass over the openings with the fi lling and their ends meet on the “bottom†of the breast. Place the chicken breasts seam side down in one layer in a 9-inch square baking dish or a medium shallow casserole.
- Bake, basting occasionally with pan drippings, until the bacon is brown and crisp, about 40 minutes. Because of the stuffi ng, it’s very difficult to take the temperature of the breasts—you should do this, but make sure you’re only taking the temperature of the meat (not the stuffing) and that it’s either 165°F (our preference) or 170°F (the USDA recommendation). Let the breasts stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.