Flying Jacob / Flygande Jakob chicken casserole

[IowaGirl]

This chicken casserole hails from Sweden. It has such an unlikely combination of ingredients and such widespread fame in Sweden that I am super curious about trying it (I haven't cooked it yet). Here's more about "Flying Jacob" --

"...The story goes that in the summer of 1976, air-freight worker Ove Jacobsson was woefully unprepared for a neighborhood dinner party. He rummaged through his kitchen, threw what he found in the oven, and created the first Flying Jacob. The dish was a hit among his neighbors....

"....The original recipe calls for shredded, grilled chicken topped with sliced bananas and Italian salad spice to be submerged in a mixture of whipped cream and Heinz chili sauce. After baking, it’s to be sprinkled with fried bacon chunks and peanuts....

"...the salty-sweet, creamy-crunchy hodgepodge as the perfect party casserole... It was an overnight sensation, a simple solution to working families’ weeknight hunger, comprised of affordable ingredients...."

Source: https://www.atlasobscura.com/article...e-flying-jacob

Here is Ove Jacobsson's original recipe with my conversions from lbs and oz to grams and cups --

Ingredients

2 lbs. (1 kg) grilled or baked chicken thighs
1 tsp. Italian seasoning spice
4 bananas
3 oz. (85 g / 1/3 cup) whipping cream
6 oz. (170 g / 3/4 cup) chili sauce (ketchup type)
1 package (1 lb / 0.5 kg) of bacon
3 oz. (85 g / approx 1/2 cup) salted peanuts

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (225 degrees Celsius). Debone the chicken, cut the cooked meat into pieces and place it in a greased ovenproof casserole dish. Sprinkle with Italian salad seasoning spice.

2. Peel the bananas. Cut them in half, then lengthwise so that there are four pieces of each. Place the banana pieces on top of the chicken. Whip the cream and mix with chili sauce.

3. Spread the cream mixture over the chicken and banana. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes.

4. While the casserole is baking, cut the bacon into small pieces and fry it crispy in a frying pan. Drain on kitchen paper.

4. Sprinkle bacon and peanuts over the chicken. Serve with rice and salad.

Source: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/flying-jacob.htm

[Elton's BBQ]

Interesting recipie.. never heard of this one..
Maybe Henrik knows more?

[texastweeter]

Intrigued and too chicken to try this recipe. Seems totally bananas (see what I did there). I'll wait until someone beta tests this first here.

[Bkhuna]

"Do you want the cucumber bruised?"

[SheilaAnn]

Bkhuna if you know, you know! Loved that episode!

[Mosca]

Nope.

I even checked the date of the articles. Still nope.

[58limited]

Is he the long lost cousin of Hoppin' John?

[LA Pork Butt]

I think you have to provide a review of how it turnedout before I venture down that road. And, I still might not!

[IowaGirl]

I assume Mr. Jacobsson was a bachelor desperately wanting to feed a pile of friends, but I have to give him a lot of credit. In his desperation, he combined ingredients that really do go together -- it's only the bananas that are the unusual twist in this recipe.

The recipe reads like something my male engineer buddies might have concocted if they'd had these ingredients.

Remembering the engineering crowd I used to run with, however, it was far more likely they'd do something with hot dogs and canned pork and beans, and ketchup. Oh, and potato chips. Lots of potato chips.

When I was an engineer working for corporate America, it was a standing joke amongst the women about the kinds of food various people would bring to an office potluck. Most of the gals, including me, and the older guys would bring tasty salads, casseroles, or sweets .... and the younger guys would bring ... wait for it! ... potato chips. If they were being especially thoughtful, they'd bring a jar of salsa too.

The Potato Chip Effect was not too much of a problem if there was a balanced mix of men and women of all ages, but engineering departments are mostly men and quite often younger guys outnumber the older ones. Engineers, especially younger male engineers, can be soooo clueless about the social niceties. So chips were usually an over-represented food group in our office potlucks.

[fzxdoc]

I read an article not long ago in the NYT that at company pot-lucks and picnics, many men consider themselves too busy to help organize or bring food, preferring to leave that sort of thing to the women in the company (who presumably are not "too busy"). Your Potato Chip Effect sounds like a lazy person's dodge to me. That said, at many of my husband's golf team events, the non-golfing wives are expected to provide the pot luck food afterwards.

Kathryn

[klflowers]

You got chips? I used to bring paper plates, napkins, utensils. Soda or sweet tea. Nowadays, as one of the older guys, I take pulled pork or ribs. You hit the nail on the head about engineers, especially the young arrogant fellas.

[IowaGirl]

klflowers -- nice to know it's not just my imagination about the younger ones. The older fellas, like you, usually had a clue about what to contribute, even the ones who were single. I also think men are more likely to get into cooking as they get older.

[holehogg]

Definitely not one for the faint-hearted.

[FireMan]

Definitely interesting. As you said, he ingredients sorta fit. As far as the bananas go, who would a thunk the peanut butter combo but it does. Way to much food for me to prepare. Waitin to see who try’s it. 🕶

Gotta think today’s engineering young’ns would bring Doritos.

[texastweeter]

I caught the domino's comment. Wasn't it originally cornflakes though?

[Donw]

Please try it and let us know. It could be something wonderful or someone mistakenly switch Saint Patrick’s Day with April Fools Day.

[Donw]

Downloaded into Paprika. Guess what we are having on April Fools Day. I’m either going to be a fool or appear as a culinary genius. I’ve only told my wife we are having a typical Sweden dish, but haven’t elaborated past that.

[IowaGirl]

Curious as heck to know how things go on the 1st! This should be interesting......

[hoovarmin]

There's an episode of "Diners, Dives, and Drive-Ins" that features this recipe at a restaurant.

[texastweeter]

Is it bananas, or maybe plantains?

[IowaGirl]

It's really bananas, not plantains.

[WI Bubba]

If I try it, I know just the guy to share it with. He has a dog. Dogs eat anything.

[bbqLuv]

Thank you for the Post, but it is not April 1st yet.