Traditional British Pub Fare: Hunter's Chicken

My boyfriend and I have been doing lots of traveling while I've been visiting him in the UK, and we do a lot of eating in pubs. It's usually cheaper over a chain restaurant, we both like cider, and we'd rather support a local business over a chain, anyway.

Pubs offer a large range of food, from simple fish and chips (US: fries) to full steak dinners. My boyfriend consistently orders a dish called Hunter's Chicken. One time while we were out at a pub, I finally took a good look at his dish and decided I could re-create it at home, since it seems to be his favourite dish.

This dish works out to be cheaper per serving over going out for a meal, and will yield a larger portion as I think the pubs only use half a chicken breast (or a small one).

There are many variations on this recipe you could look up, however the simple recipe I came up with accurately recreates the exact meal you get served in a pub.

Pub-style Hunter's Chicken

You will need:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - thawed

2 slices of back bacon per chicken piece (if you are in the US, you'll probably need 3-4 slices of bacon)

1-2 slices cheddar cheese per chicken piece (we used a nice sharp cheddar, but any will do)

1 bottle barbecue sauce (we bought HP Honey Barbecue)

Glass baking dish

Cooking spray

Salt & pepper

Toothpicks (optional - we didn't use them, but you might find them useful)

Instructions:

1. Lightly rub chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Spray bottom of baking dish with cooking spray, then coat the bottom with barbecue sauce

3. Top each chicken breast with cheddar cheese and wrap chicken in bacon. Use toothpicks to hold it together if you need to.

4. Arrange chicken in baking dish and cover with barbecue sauce. Pour remaining sauce into dish. Sauce should nearly cover chicken.

5. Let sit 30-45 minutes in the fridge to allow chicken to soak in some of the sauce. While the chicken is marinating, pre-heat your oven to 200°C (375°F)

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until bacon is cooked and juices in chicken run clear.

I served mine up with some ginger carrots and simple fried potatoes.

Fried Potatoes

You will need:

5-6 potatoes, sliced thinly

Cooking spray

Salt & pepper

Frying pan with lid

Instructions:

1. Spray frying pan and arrange potatoes in dish.

2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper

3. Cover and cook on medium-high for 20 minutes, flipping potatoes occasionally. After the first flip, sprinkle with salt & pepper again.

Ginger Carrots

You will need:

6-7 carrots, sliced or cut into coins (baby carrots would work too)

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp ginger

2 tsp sugar

Instructions:

1. Place carrots in a microwaveable safe container and cover with water. Cook 5 minutes on high.

2. Drain carrots. Stir in butter, ginger, and sugar.

3. Heat an additional 5 minutes on high. Stir and serve.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my boyfriend did! We keep a list of dishes he likes so if I'm cooking without him I can look at the list, and this one went to the top of the list!