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A Pub Grub Classic – Smothered Chicken

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Smothered Chicken, Hunters Chicken, Hickory Chicken, BBQ Chicken… I don’t think I’ve seen a pub dish with as many different names as this one.

Whatever the name the ingredients tend to be the same. A chicken breast wrapped in bacon, topped with cheese and smothered (hence the name) in BBQ sauce. It’s something I used to order a lot when I was younger as I love the slightly sweet and sticky indulgence of the meal. I rarely order it now although it’s still quite often on a pub restaurant menu, preferring to go for some thing different but when I do order it I’m quite often disappointed. Disappointed by slightly anaemic bacon, a sauce which isn’t quite what I want it to be, a barely there topping of a cheese which doesn’t really taste of anything at all.

So what do you do when you fancy something and want it to taste a particular way. Well you make it yourself.

First up I think it’s important to choose your ingredients wisely. The sauce is so important. Too sweet and it’s hard to eat it all. Too bitter and you don’t want to eat it at all. We try different BBQ sauces all the time and occasionally we even make our own. For this meal I chose a BBQ sauce we picked up in TKMaxx – yep TKMaxx. They have an aisle or two of food bits, normally sauces and oils – you won’t normally find the same product twice but it’s an exciting way to try new things. This sauce was a bit fiery but oh so good. I wish I could remember the name but I can’t and it’s all gone but for a similar taste you could use the Nandos Peri Peri BBQ sauce and for something sweeter the Jack Daniels BBQ is pretty good too.

For the cheese we used an extra mature cheddar – yes it’s harder to grate than a rubbery basic mild but the flavour is what it’s all about.

The chicken – we use thighs (boneless & skinless) instead of breasts and for the bacon – it has to be smoked, streaky if possible but definitely smoked.

You will need:

5 chicken thighs ( boneless & skinless )
6 rashers of bacon
200g of strong mature cheddar (grated)
300ml of BBQ sauce

Pour approx 75ml of BBQ sauce into a baking dish, place your chicken on top and then add a further 75ml over the top. Now drape your bacon rashers over the top of the chicken and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour over remaining sauce and sprinkle your cheese over and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Smothered chicken

* your sauce will be a little oily due to the cheese, drain away or skim if you prefer.

Serve immediately with homemade chips and a fresh green salad or with rice and veg.

IF you have any leftover this makes a really good sandwich filling ( when roughly chopped ) for the next days lunch.

We really enjoyed this at home pub grub and will definitely make it again soon.

Pub Grub Book Giveaway

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I love eating in really good restaurants. I also love to eat in my local pub. I like to cook fine cuisine one day and a good old fashioned gammon, eggs and chips pub food style the next.

I’m fickle like that and well I just like love food.

Everyone has a favorite local pub. We have several. One we like to eat in when we have the children with us as it has a soft play and a fab kids menu. One is such a short walk from my house that we got to leave BOTH children at home recently ( albeit for 90mins or so) and had a meal for my birthday which was nice. The other does themed nights and really good offers on nice wines etc so we like to go there with our friends or family. None of the pubs serve fancy food and all are budget friendly.

When I was asked to write about my favourite pub there was never going to be just one as we enjoy and support lots of local pubs.

There is an article on the Wilson Field blog about how many local pubs are struggling at the moment and facing closure but luckily it doesn’t seem that way in our area. In fact our (nearest) local pub is booming after a recent (ish) change of hands as the food has improved massively.

Last night I had steak and ale pie with sautéed potatoes and it was GOOD.

When I make this type of food at home ( pub style gammon or steak etc ) I like to make sautéed potatoes to accompany it. This is how I make my ultimate sautéed potatoes:

You will need:

A large frying pan
Leftover boiled potatoes ( these work best) or just parboiled potatoes cut into small chunks
Olive oil
Butter
Garlic
Seasalt ( I used Maldon smoked salt)
Crushed peppercorns ( I used normal and Sichuan)

Place a largish nob of butter into your pan along with a large glug of olive oil ( Jamie Olive style) and wait until your oil is fairly hot before adding your potatoes. Cook for a few minutes on a high heat, then lower your heat and cook for a further 5-8 minutes. Finally turn the heat back up and cook for a few more minutes giving your pan a shake occasionally to stop sticking and ensure an even colour on your potatoes. Cover with a healthy pinch of crushed seasalt and peppercorns, give another shake and serve immediately.

These potatoes are so delicious ,even better than chips in my opinion. Using potatoes that you cooked the day before and refrigerated gives the absolute best results.

Yum. For a fiery twist add some dried chilli flakes with your seasoning.

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* I was given a pub cookbook, quiz book and joke book in return for writing about my favourite pubs.