Hunters Chicken is a modern British pub recipe of a chicken breast wrapped in bacon, and baked with barbecue sauce and a mix of cheeses. Quick and simple enough to make on a weeknight, and even better when made with homemade BBQ sauce.
Easy Hunters Chicken
With juicy succulent chicken, bacon and lashings of BBQ sauce and melted cheese it is easy to see why Hunters Chicken has become a classic recipe in British pub kitchens. I’ll have mine after a walk on a cold winters day, sitting by a roaring fire, with a side of chips and a glass of beer to wash it down, please!
This recipe is so easy to make that you can enjoy Hunters chicken at home, any night of the week. Why not add it to your repertoire and then order something in the pub that you would never cook at home? You can even make your Hunters Chicken in the slow cooker if you prefer, coming home from a chilly walk to a warming meal.
Aside from being so easy, one of the best things about this recipe is that it all cooks in one pan. Good food with little washing up is always a winner in our home. If you prefer, though, you can make your Hunters Chicken smarter for a dinner party by cooking in individual gratin dishes. It looks great but still leaves you with plenty of time for your guests.
I like to make this Hunters Chicken with my 10 minute homemade BBQ sauce, but if you are very short of time, you can use ready-made sauce from the shop.
What is Hunters Chicken?
Although the names are essentially the same, Hunters Chicken is not the French casserole poulet chasseur, nor the Italian pollo alla cacciatore, similar dishes of chicken cooked with mushrooms, onions, herbs, wine and tomatoes with regional variations and the addition of peppers in Italy. Nor does it have anything to do with the French mushroom sauce chasseur, served over grilled or fried meat.
The British Hunters Chicken recipe is a piece of chicken which has been wrapped in bacon and baked, then smothered with BBQ sauce and topped with cheese. This is then cooked again until the cheese is melted and gooey and that BBQ sauce is bubbling! YUM!
It is most similar to the American dish of Chicken New Yorker, although the British dish usually has more sauce and uses mozzarella rather than Monterey Jack cheese. In Chicken New Yorker, the meat is sometimes breaded.
Why make Hunters Chicken
- It is unbelievably easy, with just 5 ingredients!
- It is delicious and comforting – chicken, bacon, melted cheese and BBQ sauce!
- Ready in about 30 minutes with less than 5 minutes hands on time.
- Ideal to scale up to feed a crowd, or just as easy to make for 2.
Hunters Chicken ingredients
- Chicken – Most recipes call for chicken breasts. You could, however, easily use large boneless, skinless thigh fillets.
- Bacon – Two rashers of rindless streaky bacon per person. Thin slices are better for wrapping around the chicken pieces. You can use smoked or unsmoked according to preference and the flavour of your BBQ sauce. Dry cure is better as it should lose very little liquid when you bake it.
- BBQ sauce – I think that homemade is always better, but you can use bought sauce. If you do, you can add a little extra smoked paprika, maple syrup and/or liquid smoke to get the flavour just right.
- Grated cheddar – a good strong cheddar for plenty of flavour
- Shredded Mozzarella – You can buy (expensive) ready-grated mozzarella, or buy it fresh and shred it yourself. If using fresh, then give it squeeze in a piece of kitchen paper to remove some of the liquid.
- Parsley – optional, to garnish
How to make Hunters Chicken – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips. That way, you can to make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
First preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
Step One – Wrap each chicken breast in two rashers of streaky bacon.
Pro Tip
Don’t use massive chicken breasts, as they can become rather solid and dense when cooked. I prefer them to be about 4–5 oz (100–125 g). Usually a chicken breast fillet has a little flap under it, so with the larger ones I cut it off and freeze to use in another meal.
You can also use skinless, boneless thighs. In this case, allow 2 per person depending how big they are.
Step Two – Add a little oil to an oven dish and nestle the chicken in. Season generously with pepper.
Choose a dish that is a bit bigger than the chicken so it can roast properly, but not so big there is lots of spare space. You don’t want to lose too much moisture from the sauce.
Step Three – Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 25–30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Check this by poking a knife into the meat. The juices should run clear.
A probe thermometer will read 75°C / 165°F. Don’t worry if the meat is slightly underdone at this stage as it is going to go back in the oven with the sauce on it.
Drain off any juices that have come out of the meat. You will see more of this if the meat has been frozen.
If there is lots of liquid, cook for a bit longer, as the liquid tends to steam rather than roast the chicken.
Step Four – Spread the BBQ sauce over the chicken pieces. Then sprinkle over the two cheeses, and return to the oven to melt.
You can also finish the dish under the grill, to brown the cheese.
Step Five – Garnish with lots of chopped parsley to serve.
What to serve with Hunters Chicken
This pairs brilliantly with all sorts of potato dishes, such as crispy Parmentier potatoes, cheesy chips (double cheese!), sauté potatoes or a creamy mash. For a lighter option, serve with swede chips, swede mash, or roasted butternut squash. If you love rice it would also pair well with an easy rice recipe.
Choose green beans, broccoli or sautéed cabbage rather than sweeter peas and carrots.
Variations
- Use a different cut of chicken. By convention, this is a chicken breast recipe. However, thighs work really well as they have more flavour, and because they are fattier have a better texture.
- For extra smokiness, swap in smoky bacon. For a dinner party flourish, wrap each chicken piece in a slice of Parma ham or other prosciutto rather than bacon.
- Try some different cheeses. Blue cheese lovers will adore this made with stilton or another creamy blue cheese. Try a mountain cheese such as Emmental, Comte or Gruyere. Any of our fantastic fully flavoured English cheeses such as Gloucester, Derby or Red Leicester melt well and would bring a lovely richness to the dish.
Make ahead
Hunters Chicken really is best made fresh and eaten straight out of the oven, so I don’t recommend making it ahead. The whole point of this Hunters Chicken recipe is that it is so much better than the bought chilled versions.
You can, however, do some prep by wrapping the chicken in bacon and then leaving in the fridge until you are ready to cook. Allow another 10 minutes cooking time if cooking from fridge cold.
Alternatively, you can cook the chicken and bacon ahead and cover with foil. Once cooled, you can store the meat for up to 48 hours in the fridge. Then reheat in the hot oven for 10 minutes, remove the foil and add the sauce and bacon.
Hints and Tips
- Even if you are feeding hearty eaters with big appetites, don’t use massive chicken breasts. It’s better to cut them in half and give everyone two pieces.
- You don’t want to spoil the sauce by letting it become watery. Be sure to drain off any liquid that comes out of the meat and gently squeeze any excess moisture from the mozzarella.
- If using shop BBQ sauce jazz it up with a little extra chilli, Worcestershire or soy sauce, or some liquid smoke.
FAQS
Yes, you can cook the chicken in the bacon and freeze. Allow to completely defrost either on the counter top for a couple of hours, or in the fridge overnight. Reheat and check the temperature – if reheating from the fridge add a little to the cooking time.
Once the meat is hot, pour off any juice and then add the Hunters Chicken BBQ sauce and cheese. Return to the oven until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted.
You can easily make this Hunters Chicken recipe in a slow cooker. Just put everything in the slow cooker apart from the cheese and cook for three hours.
Then transfer to an oven proof dish and top with the cheese to finish it off under the grill or in the oven.
This is a bit of a mystery. In cookery, ‘hunter’ usually refers to a dish that contains mushrooms and this one has none. It was almost certainly made up for a pub menu, though by whom is not clear.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Curry – Let the slow cooker do the work with this easy curry that is big on flavour and low on effort.
- Peri Peri Chicken – a classic Nandos copycat to make at home
- Greek Chicken – easy chicken and rice one pot with Greek flavours of lemon and oregano
- Spanish Chicken – a chicken and rice one pot packed with chorizo, tomato, peppers and olives
- Chinese Chicken Curry – a classic Katsu style curry, packed with extra vegetables. It can be on the table within half an hour!
- More easy chicken recipes – lots more ideas for quick and easy chicken dinners (Winner winner!)
- More Classic British Recipes – everything we love to eat and including British Indian restaurant, dishes and more pub grub!
Hunters Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (100–150 g)
- 4 rashers streaky bacon (rindless – smoked or unsmoked )
- 4 tbsp BBQ sauce (homemade is best – see my ten minute recipe)
- 50 g cheddar (strong, grated)
- 50 g mozzarella (shredded/grated, with the excess liquid squeezed out)
- black pepper
- parsley (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F / Gas Mark 6. Wrap each chicken breast in two rashers of streaky bacon.2 chicken breasts, 4 rashers streaky bacon
- Put a little oil in an oven dish and place the chicken in it. Season generously with pepper.black pepper
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 25–30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Drain off any juices that have come out of the meat. If there is a lot of liquid, cook for a bit longer.
- Spread the BBQ sauce over the chicken pieces. Then sprinkle over the two cheeses, and return to the oven to melt. You can finish the dish under the grill if want to brown the cheese.4 tbsp BBQ sauce, 50 g cheddar, 50 g mozzarella
- Garnish with parsley and serve at once.parsley
Notes
- Even if you are feeding hearty eaters with big appetites, don’t use massive chicken breasts. It’s better to cut them in half and give everyone two pieces.
- You don’t want to spoil the sauce by letting it become watery. Be sure to drain off any liquid that comes out of the meat when it is roasting (especially if it has been previously frozen) and gently squeeze any excess moisture from the mozzarella.
- If using shop BBQ sauce jazz it up with a little extra chilli, Worcestershire or soy sauce, or some liquid smoke.
- This really is best made fresh. However you can cook the chicken and bacon ahead and cover with foil. Once cooled, you can store the meat for up to 48 hours in the fridge. Then reheat in the hot oven for 10 minutes, remove the foil and add the sauce and bacon.
- Cover leftovers and keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Reheat in a hot oven in a covered dish, removing the cover after 10 minutes. You may need to add a little extra cheese.
- This recipe is 18 Weight Watchers Points per portion
Chloe
Yes! This is one of my go-tos at the pub, I love that I am now making it at home, is never thought about it before! I just found some gruyère in the freezer so I’m going to use that next time, can’t wait!
Harriet
This is a classic winter warmer dish, and absolutely delicious. So good to find a decent recipe for it. It turned out perfectly.
Felicity D
It really is a pub classic! Love it and easy enough to make and enjoy at home. The melted cheese and sauce is the stuff of The Gods.
Marcia
Do you cover the chicken when you bake it or is it uncovered?
Helen Best-Shaw
uncovered