Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

We made the best bacon wrapped stuffed whole chicken in the oven this weekend! Stuffed the cavity with garlic, lemon or vegetables and then wrapped with uncured bacon strips for an amazing baked whole chicken at 350 for dinner.

I mean you can’t go wrong with slices of pig really. It’s like hugging your bird! 😉 You can’t get much better than that, but then we filled the cavity with garlic and herbs too. It’s just out of this world and packed with protein too.

Now let’s talk about the star of the show to begin with shall we? If you are in the states you are probably just thinking of traditional strips packaged, thin or thick. There are other choices though. Whichever you choose it needs to be defrosted or fresh, frozen bacon won’t do. More fat is better too for flavor!!

What kind of bacon can you wrap chicken with? American bacon is perhaps the most commonly consumed type. It is made from pork belly in oven and is known for its high fat content and streaks of meat. British bacon though is closer to what is known as rashers. It consists of back bacon, but it includes both the loin and the belly. We used this so it would wrap around nicely.

Ingredient Notes

I am a stickler for the poultry I buy and eat. There are few things I buy organic and free range whole chicken and this is one of them. I feel like the “others” meat texture isn’t as tender and many times a bit tough. It is well worth the extra few dollars and just my opinion but worth noting. 4 pounds is just about perfect for fitting into a 9×13 pan.

Can you wrap a frozen whole chicken with bacon?

Technically yes you could do that however I wouldn’t recommend it as that takes longer to cook all the way thru and by that time the outside will get too brown. You can save the day though with our frozen chicken in oven recipe and just lay a few slices on top halfway thru.

I prefer thin larger pieces of bacon like you see here in these pictures. You can ask your butcher for this size, I don’t like thick slices as they are chewier and have less flavor.

What to Stuff Chicken With

The inside ingredients for your stuffed whole chicken are really up to you. First if there is a bag of gizzards and things you will want to pull that out to make room for the other goodies. We have made this a variety of ways but since we want the pork to crisp on the outside you’ll need to bake it in the oven this go around.

If you want it stuffed I recommend doing so with Pepperidge Farm sausage stuffing by combining cubed bread, sautéed onions, celery, herbs like thyme and sage, and chicken broth. Gently pack the cavity with the stuffing mixture and roast the chicken. This option adds a savory and comforting element to the dish.

Another simpler choice is to just prepare fresh vegetables and push into the cavity as you can see here. Large cloves of garlic are great in the mix too.

You can season the outside like you see here underneath the strips or leave as is as those pieces will add a lot as they are. Another option is to lay them on and sprinkle a bit of brown sugar to the top so it caramelizes as it bakes when you take off the foil.

How Long to Cook Whole Chicken Wrapped with Bacon

You are going to need a total of about 1 hour and 20 minutes but the size of the bird does matter. I make this with one that is usually very close to 4 pounds with wide slices of pork that have some fat as well as meat so it wraps around nicely.

Should I cover with foil?

The best way to bake a whole chicken in the oven is to cover with foil for at least half the bake time, then remove to crisp the skin. If you don’t want to use aluminum at all you could use a Dutch Oven instead, cover with the lid and then remove at the end.

You are going to cook this low and slow at the beginning when it is covered which will get your meat super fall apart moist. Then increasing the heat later on will get the texture on the outsides just right because crispy chicken skin is the bomb. The bacon needs to crisp up too for this one.

Now one night if you wanted a smaller meal you could try our bacon wrapped chicken breast in air fryer instead.

How do you know when bacon wrapped chicken is done?

Cooked chicken in thickest part of thigh’s internal temperature should register 165 degrees. You will notice juices run clear once it is done. Then you always want the bird to rest in the pan, covered for 10 – 15 minutes before removing the chicken to transfer to a serving dish to slice to keep it juicy.

Yes this takes longer than just bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts, those are closer to 30 minutes but still quick and easy if you ask me.