Tips for bacon wrapped chicken cordon bleu

[GreaseShirt]

Heyo- my brother picked up some bacon wrapped chicken cordon bleus from our local butcher and we’re gonna cook em up today but wondering if anyone’s got any ideas for how to get the bacon crispy without overcooking the breast. Is is a reverse sear situation or just do the whole thing at 325 (or 350 in the oven if the predicted rain arrives). Thanks in advance.

[Mosca]

I’ve never had bacon wrapped anything get crispy, I finally figured that it’s probably not supposed to. I think just cook it until the center hits 165°.

[Jerod Broussard]

If you sear get ready for grease flares. Indirect 350 does pretty well but I still like to get over some heat to get the bacon cooked a little better.

I typically use the raised grate on the SnS to mitigate the flares.

[Jfrosty27]

I do a bacon wrapped pork loin or even tenderloin by smoking low and sliw to around 125, then reverse sear on a screaming hot grill to crisp up the bacon and bring the meat to serving temperature. In this case about 145. You must watch it closely though. IT changes fast. I would think the same method would work. Just adjust your temperature targets for chicken.

[rickgregory]

400F is your friend.

[texastweeter]

At the end of the cook, flash fry it.

[DavidNorcross]

You can also cook the bacon slightly before wrapping. Or in this case, you would remove the bacon and then wrap again. I would be careful not to dry out the chicken with too much heat.

[fzxdoc]

I agree with DavidNorcross . Par cook the bacon. Let it cool somewhat. Re-wrap the chicken. Worth a try.

For bacon wrapping, like for Lit'l Smokies Jalapeno Poppers, I use thin center cut bacon, and par-cook it. The bacon gets pretty crispy that way. Your chicken breasts have a much larger mass, though, so as Mosca says, you may never achieve true crispy bacon perfection.

Kathryn

[rickgregory]

parcooking is an interesting idea. When I buy these I look for the ones with thin bacon slices which are more likely to brown and I do cook at 400F. I don't cook for as long as I do others at 350F but the high heat works fine to mostly crisp the bacon.