3811. BACON-WRAPPED CHICKEN and PEACH MINI-BROCHETTES

makes 24 bites


Marinade
2 tbsp (30 ml) white wine vinegar
2 tbsp (28 g) butter
2 tbsp (30 ml) honey
1 green onion, chopped

Mini-Brochettes

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, each cut into 6 pieces

2 peaches, pitted and each cut into 12 wedges

12 slices bacon, halved

24 large toothpicks, soaked in water for 15 minutes

Salt and pepper

Marinade: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring all the ingredients to a boil and simmer for about 1 minute. Let cool.

Mini-Brochettes: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Wrap a piece of chicken and a peach wedge with a half slice of bacon. Skewer with a toothpick. Place the skewers in a glass dish and coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat the grill, setting the burners to high. Oil the grate. Reduce the heat to medium. Grill the skewers for about 5 minutes on each side. Turn off the burner on one side of the grill and place the skewers on the unlit section for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

bacon recipe source: Ricardo Cuisine (@RicardoRecipes) 

2936. BROCHETTE of SALMON with BACON

yields four servings


1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless salmon
salt to taste if desired
1 large sweet red pepper
6 slices bacon
1 red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves

Preheat a charcoal grill or oven broiler to high. Soak 8 wooden skewers in cold water to cover until ready to use. Cut the salmon into 1 1/2-inch cubes. There should be 24 pieces. Sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper. Cut away and discard the pepper core and veins. Discard the seeds. Cut the pepper into 16 pieces of equal size. Cut the bacon into 16 rectangles of equal size. Cut the onion into 16 1/2-inch cubes. Put any remaining onion to another use. Heat a nonstick skillet and add the bacon pieces in one layer. Scatter the sweet pepper and onion cubes over the bacon. Cook, shaking the pieces and stirring for about 1 minute. Drain and let cook slightly. Drain the bacon mixture. Arrange the various foods on each of the skewers as follows: 1 sweet pepper cube, a piece of bacon, 1 piece of salmon, a cube of onion, a piece of salmon, a cube of onion, a piece of bacon, a piece of salmon and a cube of pepper. Brush brochettes all over with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If the brochettes are to be cooked under the broiler, arrange them on a rack. Place them about 4 inches from the source of heat and leave the door slightly ajar. Cook 3 minutes on one side and turn the brochettes to the other side. Cook 2 minutes. If the brochettes are to be cooked on a charcoal grill, place them on the grill and cook 3 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the butter and add the lemon juice and basil. Stir and pour or brush the sauce over the brochettes.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Pierre Franey, 60-Minute Gourmet, The New York Times, August 27, 1986

2046. HERB-MARINATED MONKFISH and BACON BROCHETTE

serves six


2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
800 grams monkfish fillet, cut into 5cm dice
10 slices dry-cured back bacon
1 large red onion, cut into small wedges
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Roasted pepper dressing
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 red and 2 yellow peppers, quartered and seeded
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Mix together 2 tablespoons chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons chopped coriander with the lemon juice, olive oil and a little black pepper. Mix in the fish, making sure it is well coated. Cover and chill until needed. Set the grill to high and prepare the sauce by placing the peppers, skin side up, underneath. As soon as their skin blisters and blackens, remove to a bowl and cover. Once cool enough to handle, peel and cut into small diamonds. Whisk together the parsley, coriander, garlic, vinegar and olive oil, add the prepared roasted pepper and season to taste.

If not already hot, preheat the grill to high. Trim the bacon of excess fat and cut into large squares. When ready, assemble your brochettes by alternating chunks of marinated monkfish with bacon and the red onion on skewers. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and place under the grill. Cook for 4-6 minutes then turn and cook for a further 4-6 minutes on the other side. Serve with the sauce.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Waitrose.com: Online Grocery Shopping, Waitrose Limited, Doncastle Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8YA, January, 2001

1655. HAVARTI and BACON BROCHETTES

16 big cubes of Havarti cheese
8 slices of bacon, each cut in four
4 wooden skewers steeped in water

Place Havarti cheese cubes on a plate and freeze for 2 hours. Preheat barbecue to medium. Wrap each cheese cube with two pieces of bacon as tightly as possible, completely covering cheese. Skewer 4 cubes of Havarti cheese to each brochette and barbecue 7 to 8 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and cheese starts to melt, turning over a few times. Remove from heat and serve on a bed of mesclun. Accompany with pickled mushrooms.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Dairy Farmers of Canada, 1801 McGill College Avenue, Suite 700, Montreal, QC H3A 2N4

1511. BACON-WRAPPED CHICKEN BROCHETTES with CURRY SAUCE

serves eight


Curry Sauce
1 teaspoon butter or olive oil
1 small chopped onion or washed leeks
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 green apple, peeled and chopped
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger (or 1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger)
1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped

Chicken Brochettes:
8 10" bamboo skewers soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
12 green onions, roots trimmed; use white part and about 1" of green
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 strips smoked bacon
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

For Sauce: In skillet, sauté onion, garlic and bell pepper in butter or oil on low heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15 minutes or until the apples are tender. Add salt to taste. Cool 15 minutes and put in blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. If sauce looks too thin, return to stovetop and reduce on low, until you reach desired consistency. Taste again for salt. Set aside.

For Chicken Brochettes: Trim, clean and cut green onions into 2 inch pieces from stem (white part). Reserve tops for garnish. Cut chicken breasts into 8 pieces each and place in a bowl. Pour teriyaki sauce over chicken and let marinate 5-10 minutes. Cut bacon into 4 pieces each. Take a piece of chicken breast and wrap it in bacon. Skewer it where the two ends of the bacon meet. Place an onion next on the skewer. Repeat process until each skewer has 4 pieces of chicken wrapped in bacon and 3 green onions. Place over a hot grill or under hot broiler until bacon is crisped and chicken is cooked through, (it should feel firm to the touch), about 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove from heat.

Rewarm sauce on low while chicken is cooking and spoon sauce onto warm dinner plates. Place brochettes on top of sauce and garnish with cilantro leaves and/or thinly sliced green onions.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Farmer John, 1101 North Main Street, Austin, Minnesota 55912-3680

574. BROCHETTE OF BACON-WRAPPED SWORDFISH

makes 4 servings


1 small clove garlic
1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¾ cup dry bread crumbs
8 large white mushrooms
Juice of ½ lemon
2 bell peppers (capiscums), 1 red and 1 yellow or 2 red
1¾ pounds swordfish, 1½ inches thick
6 strips bacon
8 large cloves roasted garlic
1 sweet onion, preferably Vidalia
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

First place 8 long bamboo skewers in cold water to soak. Finely chop the garlic with the herbs, season with black pepper, mix with the bread crumbs, and side aside. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Place the mushroom caps in a small saucepan with the lemon juice and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then drain immediately. Set aside. Core and seed the peppers and cut them into 2-inch (5-cm) squares. You should have 16 squares of pepper. Trim any skin from the swordfish and cut the fish into 12 uniform medallions, about 1½ x 2 inches (4 x 5 cm). Wrap each in ½ strip of the bacon. Peel the roasted garlic cloves. Peel the onion, quarter it and separate it into layers. Preheat a grill or broiler. Thread the ingredients, just slightly off center, on each of 4 skewers, starting with a mushroom cap, then a roasted garlic clove, then a chunk of bacon-wrapped swordfish, taking care to put the skewer through the bacon as well as the fish. Follow with a square of red pepper, a piece of onion, and another square of pepper, a chunk of swordfish. Continue with pepper, onion, pepper, swordfish, garlic, and mushroom. Insert a second skewer about ½ inch (1.3 cm) from the first in each brochette. Repeat with the remaining skewers. Lightly season the skewers with salt and pepper, brush with olive oil, and roll in the bread crumb mixture to coat lightly. Grill or broil the skewers 6 to 8 minutes, turning them as they brown.


courtesy of: Life in Italy.com, 5909 Bethlehem Court, Rockville, Maryland 20855 / (301) 738 6827