Welcome back to the kitchen! Today, we’re going to dive into an irresistibly indulgent recipe that combines the flavors of crispy fried chicken with bacon in a rich creamy Parmesan sauce. This mouthwatering dish will tantalize your taste buds and leave you craving more with every bite. Perfect for those nights when you’re wanting something warm, comforting, and simply delectable, this recipe is sure to become a favorite in no time.
Imagine tender, juicy fried chicken with a perfectly crisp, golden-brown crust, smothered in a luscious sauce that boasts a heavenly combination of savory bacon, fragrant garlic, and nutty Parmesan cheese. Pair it with your favorite side dishes, and you have a meal that will impress everyone at the table.
In this blog post, I’ll guide you through the process of creating this unforgettable dish, sharing some tried-and-tested tips for getting the perfect fried chicken texture and whipping up a sauce so creamy and flavorful, it will have you licking your plate clean. So, grab your apron, and let’s get started on this culinary adventure together!
Prep Work
There are several things you can prep in this recipe depending on your level of spoons. There are workarounds for a majority of these prep steps and I’ll share them as we go through.
Chicken
The first thing I usually prep is the chicken. If you don’t like touching raw chicken, one work around is to wear disposable gloves and use tongs when putting them into and out of the frying pan. If you don’t have the energy or capacity to cut boneless chicken breasts in half, you should be able to purchase chicken breast cutlets at your local grocery store. You could also substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs for the breasts.
Onions & Garlic
To be honest with you, I never mince my own garlic. I always buy the little glass jars of pre-minced garlic. They taste fine, and it saves me a whole prepping step. However, you are more than welcome to buy whole garlic cloves and peel and mince/chop them into fine pieces. That will likely take extra spoons.
For my onion prep, I’ve done several different things depending on the day. For a high spoons day, I will buy a yellow onion and store it in the fridge. Why? Because if you keep it cold, it will not make you cry when you cut it. I usually cut the whole onion in half, then remove the outer peel from both halves and then chop as finely as desired.
You’ll only need half of the onion for this recipe, so I recommend putting the other half of the chopped onion bits into a bag, dating it, and saving it for a future recipe it in your freezer. At your next recipe time, you’ll be able to simply pull them straight from the freezer and use without defrosting first.
For a lower spoons day, you can purchase freshly sliced/chopped onions in your local produce section of the grocery store. Or you can buy and keep bags of chopped onions in your freezer to pull out and use as needed. The nice part about frozen onions, is that you can use them in recipes without defrosting them beforehand (because let’s be honest, I will forget to defrost items in advance).
Bacon
There are several options you can work with when it comes to the bacon part of this recipe. For a high spoons day, you can buy any package of bacon at the store that you like. The recipe only calls for 8 oz (1/2 lbs) of bacon but if it’s easier/cheaper to buy a full pound, then go with a pound! The only prep work I do when I buy regular bacon is to cut off the largest section of fat and then cut the bacon strips into smaller chunks about 2 inches long.
For a low spoons day, you can do one of two things. You can still buy regular bacon, but simply skip the cutting off the fat portion (this does mean you will have a lot of extra grease to drain). You can also choose to skip the cutting the bacon strips into smaller pieces, however this may make the end recipe a bit odd. But it will still taste good. 🙂
The other option is to buy chopped or diced ham instead of bacon. This is a great no spoons option that requires little effort at all. You -may- need to add a little cooking oil to the frying pan before you cook the ham to make up for the lack of grease from the bacon fat.
Step 1: Frying the Chicken
Put your oil and butter in a large frying pan (large enough to place all of your chicken pieces in at once) and turn on the burner to medium-high heat.
Take your halved chicken breasts (or cutlets, or chicken thighs) and salt and pepper them on both sides of all the pieces. Mix the flour and parmesan cheese in a shallow dish or bowl that is wide enough to fit the size of one of the chicken pieces. Dip each chicken piece in the flour/parmesan mixture and coat all sides.
Once the butter is melted and the oil/butter mixture is heated to the point where it bubbles a bit when disturbed, gently place your chicken pieces into the hot mixture.
It takes me about five minutes each side for the chicken to cook thoroughly and reach internal temperatures of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When you flip the chicken over you want both sides to be a nice golden color. Once they are, remove the chicken onto a plate.
Step 2: Cooking the Bacon
Take whichever bacon you decided to use (whether it’s some fat removed, cut into two inch strips, or diced/cubed ham, or just full on strips of bacon) and fry it in the remains of the chicken oil/butter mixture. If you don’t have enough liquid in the pan, add a little oil as needed (carefully).
I like my bacon super crispy and crunchy, so I fry it until it is not quite burned. You can cook it to be softer, however, just don’t cook it for quite as long.
Once you get the bacon to a texture you like, drain off the excess grease and leave the bacon in the pan.
Add in your chopped onions and minced garlic and fry until the onion turns translucent and is caramelized. Make sure the onion cooks all the way through. If it doesn’t, your sauce will have a bit of a crunch to it and a stronger onion-y flavor.
Lower your stove to low and pour in the half and half. I sometimes have to turn my stove up a notch or two to get it hot enough to bring the liquid to a light simmer.
You can add some salt and pepper in to the sauce while it simmers depending on your taste preferences. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir until it is melted.
To thicken the sauce, add in the cornstarch/water mixture and stir quickly. Allow it a few minutes before adding more.
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of half and half. However, my store sells them in containers of 2 cups. I don’t use half and half for many other things, so I usually end up wasting that extra half cup. You can just pour it all in and simply modify the cornstarch part of the recipe. If you use the extra half and half, you will want to up the mixture to 1 Tbsp of cornstarch to 4 Tbsp of water.
Anytime you add a cornstarch mixture to a sauce to thicken it, you’ll want to give the sauce several minutes to thicken. You have to be patient because if you aren’t, you will end up adding too much cornstarch and will then need to go back in and add in more liquid (half and half or milk) to balance it back out.
Step 3: Eat and Enjoy!
That’s it! All you need to do now is place the chicken pieces back on top of the sauce in the pan and voila! Dinner is served. 🙂 Now this is usually when I realize I completely forgot to plan or make a side dish. Because I almost always forget side dishes. Any steamed veggie would work well with this dish, or you could make your favorite pasta or rice.
Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or chicken cutlets or boneless skinless chicken thighs) cut in half
3 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil (or any other cooking oil)
2 tsp butter
8-16 oz (1/2 – 1 lbs) bacon chopped into 2 inch pieces
6 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 onion chopped
1 1/2 – 2 cups half and half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp cornstarch + 2 tsps water / or 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 4 Tbsp water mixture
Simple Instructions:
1. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces. Cover both sides of the chicken pieces in the flour/parmesan mixture. Melt the butter and oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken pieces in the pan (5 minutes per side) until golden brown. Remove the chicken and keep warm on a separate plate.
3. Put the bacon strips/pieces into the pan and fry until crispy. Drain any extra grease. Add in minced garlic and chopped onions. Fry the onions until they are soft and translucent.
4. Turn down the heat to a lower setting and pour in the half and half. Bring to a soft simmer.
5. Add in any extra salt and pepper to taste to the sauce. Mix in the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and stir until it is fully melted.
6. Mix the cornstarch and water together and rapidly stir the mixture into the cream sauce. Allow it to thicken for a few minutes. Add in more cornstarch/water as needed if the sauce isn’t thick enough.
7. Add the chicken back to the pan and serve with a side of steamed veggies, rice, or pasta.
