Pub Classics · England-wide

Hunter’s Chicken

Name: Hunter’s Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts; 8 rashers smoked streaky bacon; Sauce: 150ml passata, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp smoked paprika; 150g mature cheddar, grated; Chips and peas, to serve

Bacon-wrapped chicken baked in sticky barbecue sauce under a blanket of molten cheddar — the pub classic that has never once left Britain’s most-ordered list.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Difficulty: Easy
Era: 1990s pub board

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
8 rashers smoked streaky bacon
Sauce: 150ml passata, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp smoked paprika
150g mature cheddar, grated
Chips and peas, to serve

Method

Oven200°C400°FFan 180°CGas 6

Wrap each chicken breast in two rashers of bacon; place in a baking dish.
Bake at 200°C / 400°F (fan 180°C, gas 6) for 20 minutes.
Simmer the sauce ingredients together for 10 minutes until thick and glossy.
Pour the sauce over the chicken, blanket with cheddar and return to the oven for 12–15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and bronzed.
Serve with chips, peas, and no pretension whatsoever.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.