Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Guacamole Stuffed Chicken Breast, with Bacon!

A pig, a chicken, and an avocado walk into a bar.... HA!  Just kidding.  This recipe is a bit strange.  Your head will say, "Avocados and chicken?  No way!" but your mouth will tell your head to "Shut right up, because this stuff is extra-primo super delicious!"


This dish is a lot simpler than it seems, and it's actually good for you sine Avocado is a "super food" and chicken is lean and, well, bacon is "good!"

You Will Need:

  • 1 large chicken breast (skinless and boneless)
  • 1 thin slice of bacon (maybe two)
  • 1 solid batch of good Guacamole!
  • Oven, Pre-Heat to 375

The first thing you'll need is an amazing batch of guacamole.  You'll need some to stuff into the chicken breasts, and you'll need something to snack on while you wait for the dish to come out of the oven, so... get started on that first!

Once your guac is done, rinse off your chicken breast and lay it out on the cutting board.  Lop off the cap from the bigger (non-tapered) end.  Keep the cap and cook it along with the rest of the breast, the bacon fat will render it quite delicious and it's a nice "bonus bite" for the chef!

Grab the breast in your "non-knife" hand and give it a squeeze to tighten it together.  Insert a sharp filet knife and cut a nice slit through the center of the end of the breast.  Use extreme care not to open your hand at this stage!  The chicken will be delicious, stuff with guacamole.  Your hand will not!

Pull out the knife, and insert your fingers.  Stretch the slit out a bit so that it becomes a nice hole.  Now comes the fun part... Use a spoon, a butter knife, or your fingers, and stuff that hole with guacamole!  You will get guacamole everywhere if you're not careful.  I've found that it's best to use a little bit at a time. 

It's a test of your patience, but you won't have guac all over your counter-top.  Also, you'll need to resist the urge to eat any guacamole spillage, since it's tainted with raw chicken breast.  For that reason, it's best not to scoop your "chicken hand" into the guacamole bowl!  You certainly don't want to ruin a fresh batch of guac with chicken juice...

Once you've stuff it, lay the chicken breast down, and tuck the ends under, so it's nice and pretty.  Wrap the chicken in a thin piece of bacon, to hold everything together.  Why thin bacon, and not thick?  Thin bacon stretches better, and crisps up a bit more quickly.  Use a toothpick if you need to, this can be a bit tricky...

Finally, the fun part!  Place a pan over Medium-High heat and let it get hot.  Lay your chicken down into the pan and listen to the sizzle!  Let them cook for 2 minutes on each side, just enough to let the bacon crisp up a little bit.  Then, slide the entire pan into your 375 degree oven, and close the lid for 15 minutes.

When the chicken comes out of the oven, it should be 165 degrees inside and the juice should be clear.  Slice and eat!  I find the salt from the bacon is enough to season the chicken.  The guacamole should be seasoned perfectly, going in.  All together, the mix of crispy bacon, soft guacamole, firm chicken... it's heaven!