Bacon, in all its crispy, salty glory, has been enjoying a rather lengthy period in the spotlight lately. It's no wonder then that slow cooker recipes featuring bacon would be popular and also diverse. The following recipes for bacon wrapped chicken couldn't be more different. Let's take a deeper look.
Bacon-wrapped chicken usually involves oven cooking to ensure that the chicken is cooked all the way through, and the bacon is crispy. In the Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Chicken recipe from
Paleo Leap, chicken breasts are wrapped with raw bacon and placed in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours. Although the bacon will technically be cooked through, it won't be crispy, so this may be a deal-breaker for some people. The chicken will, however, be juicy because of the partially rendered bacon fat and the additional moisture from the barbecue sauce. The final meal will have smoky, salty, and sweet notes.
In the Sour Cream Bacon Chicken recipe from
Busy Cooks, the overall flavor profile rests firmly on the savory side of the spectrum. Here, partially cooked bacon is wrapped around the chicken breasts, which are then topped with the sour cream and
mushroom soup combo. The bacon is this version will have a little better consistency, but, once again, it will not be crisp. But if you prefer a savory sauce with roasted garlic, mushrooms, sour cream, and bacon, give this one a try.
Both recipes should yield breast meat that is juicier than in standard slow cooker recipes thanks to that glorious bacon fat, but keep an eye on the cook time since chicken breasts can dry out. If you want the flavor and that crispy bacon, try preparing the meal as written, then removing the bacon before serving and topping the dish with bacon you've cooked thoroughly on the stove. Enjoy!
