Bacon Coated Barbecue Chicken Kebabs

I wanted to be bold today and try something new, and somewhat daring. I had my chicken thawed, and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with it, other than barbecue it. I started browsing Pinterest and the internet for new recipes, and came across this Barbecue Chicken Kebab recipe on Pink Parsley, which comes from Cooks Illustrated.

The thing that makes this recipe unique is that it is Bacon Coated Barbecue Chicken Kebabs. Yes, you heard that right – this chicken is “coated” with bacon!! I thought the idea of pureeing bacon sounded a tad gross, but it got rave reviews about how it makes the chicken so moist, so I just had to see for myself. This recipe was a HUGE hit, and the kids all asked for MORE!!

I served this with a homemade 3 cheese macaroni salad, that is fairly basic and yummy!

Bacon Coated Barbecue Chicken Kebabs

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 4 adults

Ingredients

Sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses or honey
2 Tbs grated onion
2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 Tbs cider vinegar
1 Tbs brown sugar
hot sauce, to taste
Kebabs
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbs Grill Mates Barbecue seasoning
2 tsp sugar
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
skewers

Instructions

For the sauce, bring all ingredients to a simmer in a small saucepan, over medium heat.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and reaches a ketchup-like consistency and is reduced to about 1 cup. This takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove from heat and reserve half of the sauce for dipping later.
For the kebabs, toss the chicken with the salt in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour.
For a gas grill, turn all the burners to high, close the lid, and heat 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
Process the bacon in a food processor until a smooth paste forms, 30-45 seconds, scraping down the bowl twice during processing.
Add the bacon paste and the spice mixture to the chicken and toss to coat using your hands or a rubber spatula.
Thread the meat onto skewers, folding meat in half if necessary to maintain 1-inch cubes.
Turn side burners off, with the main burner being the only one on high. Place the kebabs over the hot burner and grill, covered, turning one-quarter of a turn every 2 minutes or so, until well browned and slightly charred, 8 to 10 minutes.
Brush the top surface of the kebabs with 1/4 cup sauce; flip and cook until the sauce is browned in spots, about 1-2 minutes. Flip again and brush with remainign 1/4 cup sauce; continue to cook until browned in spots and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes.
Remove from grill and allow to rest 5 minutes before serving with extra dipping sauce.