Hunters Chicken British Pub Style!

Hunters Chicken comes in many guises, mine is influenced by British Pub versions, a chicken breast wrapped in bacon, with cheese & BBQ sauce.

It is a wonderfully easy dish to cook and both the chicken and sauce can be prepared in advance, then just thrown in the oven at a later time.

Chicken Wrapped in Bacon with Cheese and BBQ Sauce.

I will put my hands on my heart and say that I have no idea how or why this dish became known as hunters chicken.

In Italian, it is called cacciatore and it is a simple but rather elegant dish that I adore. I have both a slow cooker chicken cacciatore and rabbit cacciatore recipe here already.

The French have a version called Chicken Chasseur. Again it is a simple and elegant affair. Both the Italians and French use wine, maybe tomatoes, a little bacon and cook it nice and slow as a stew.

Us Brits seem to have taken a very different approach!

Most of us are urban dwellers and have been for a long old time. Hunters chicken in a British pub means, chicken BBQ, sauce, bacon, and cheese!

I’m a pluralist at heart when it comes to food, so I’m equally at home with my rather foxy rabbit cacciatore as I am with this daft but gloriously satisfying recipe.

I “cut” my BBQ sauce with a few things to knock back the sweetness and add a little spice. But this recipe is obscenely easy to make.

Frequently Asked Questions.

Can I prepare this in advance?

Absolutely! You can cut the chicken, stuff it, wrap it in bacon and then wrap it in cling film.

This can be done 2-3 days in advance and kept in the fridge. This actually results in a slightly better-looking and tighter-wrapped chicken.

Likewise, you can make the sauce days in advance, although it is so simple there is little time to be saved.

What other cheeses can I use?

Hunters chicken is full of big flavours, sweet BBQ sauce, liquid smoke and Tabasco so you need a cheese with some flavour.

You could go for something Swiss, like Gruyere or maybe even some shredded mozzarella. They will deliver all of the glory of stretchy cheese but lack the right punch of flavour.

A perfect alternative to cheddar would be a hard-aged goats cheese.

Are Tabasco and liquid smoke essential?

Not at all and tread lightly with them, this sauce is fine to eat uncooked so you can taste as you go.

I used half a teaspoon of liquid smoke and one teaspoon of Tabasco if you want a reference point.

You could omit both and use Worcestershire sauce to add a little pep.

What BBQ sauce do you use?

Just like my slow cooker sausages, I have landed on Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce for this recipe. But you should absolutely use something that you like, but you do want something quite sweet!

Why is there no salt?

Hunters chicken contains loads of bacon and cheese and as a result, does not need any additional salt as far as I am concerned.

Serving Suggestions.

For me, this is almost always hunters chicken and wedges, but here I have served it with some delicious polenta chips.

I tend to cook my wedges in an air fryer as it is quick and stress-free.

It is equally as good with proper chippy chips if you are a regular with a deep fat fryer.

I often see it served with a simple green salad, although I would personally stick with some peppery rocket or watercress.

When I am feeling as though I need some real comfort food, I serve this with mashed potatoes and peas.

Although you need to undo your belt buckle a notch after that one!

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Oven.
• Roasting tray.
• Kitchen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Grater.
• Mixing bowl.
• Quick read meat thermometer.