Tender pieces of chicken dripping with salty, spicy barbecue sauce topped with bacon and grilled cheese. Oh wow, your mouth is watering right? Mine certainly is and I’ve just eaten this delicious dish, I could so have it again. Which is a good job because I have another 5 family sized portions in the freezer.
Here’s my big batch cook recipe for this delicious hunters chicken.
Most of my recipes are cheap to make and healthy. Everyone deserves an indulgent treat every once in a while. This Hunters chicken recipe is one of those.
It’s pretty high in salt and fat too. Each serving contains more meat than most of my recipes so it is one of the most expensive meals I make. It also only includes one portion of vegetables. I usually serve it with an extra two portions of frozen vegetables.
But oh my goodness the taste!! This dish is hearty comfort food at it’s very finest. The salty tang of the barbecue sauce is utterly mouth watering. Topped with bacon and cheese oh my! There’s nothing in here that my whole family don’t love.
Ingredients
- 2Kg Chicken Breast £12.29
- 3 Tins (1.2kg) Chopped Tomatoes £1.29
- 200g Tomato Puree 59p
- 150ml Worcestershire Sauce 69p
- 150ml Balsamic Vinegar 46p
- 25g BBQ Seasoning 35p
- 580g Bacon £2.50
- 900g Cheese £4.99
Total Cost = £23.16
Makes 24 servings = 97p per serving
Food purchased from Aldi, UK
I sometimes make this Hunters Chicken recipe with chicken thigh fillets which is quite a bit cheaper. On this occasion I chose to splurge the extra on chicken breast meat. The whiter meat does seem to balance the strong flavour of the sauce much better than darker thigh meat.
The cost could be reduced even further by using frozen chicken breast. I much prefer the fresh British meat as I find it to be far better quality with a much lower water content.
Aldi only had the premium spice grinders in stock this time. The cheaper version is totally fine, it just wasn’t cheaper for me to drive to a different supermarket to get it.
Because this is one of our more indulgent meals I have been quite generous with the portion sizes. This Hunters Chicken recipe would be cheaper if I had added an extra couple of tins of tomatoes and made more servings.
Cooking Equipment You Will Need to Make Hunters Chicken
You do not need a lot of equipment to batch cook. You can get started with tools you probably already have in your kitchen.
To make Hunters Chicken you will need:
- Kitchen Knife
- Chopping Board
- Large Pan
- Blender
- Oven Dishes
How to Make Hunters Chicken
Step 1
Start by emptying the cans of chopped tomatoes into a good sized pan. That’s a full portion of veg so if you serve this with another vegetable on the side it’s a perfectly balanced and healthy meal.
Step 2
Add the tube of tomato puree. This makes the sauce a little thicker and a little more flavoursome.
Step 3
Next the magic ingredient – Worcestershire sauce. This give the BBQ sauce a real tang. Add the whole 150ml bottle.
Step 4
Add the same amount of balsamic vinegar to really heighten that mouth watering tang.
Step 5
And then half a jar of BBQ seasoning.
Bring the sauce to the boil, it will smell delicious already.
Step 6
While the sauce is boiling dice the chicken and divide it into equal portions. I’m using 6 dishes each of which should feed a family of four. If you have a larger family use larger oven dishes and make fewer portions.
Step 7
Next blend the sauce. I inherited a handy stick blender. Before that I used to ladle my sauce into an upright blender instead. It makes more washing up this way but the sauce tastes just as good.
Step 8
And pour it over the chicken.
Step 9
Top with rashers of bacon. I’ve chopped mine into bite sized chunks as this makes it easier to serve and easier for the children to eat. If I were making this Hunters Chicken Recipe for adults I’d leave the chicken breast whole and use whole rashers of bacon.
Step 10
And a generous layer of cheese.
How to Cook Hunters Chicken
Pop it in the oven for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 4.
Make sure the chicken is cooked through before serving.
How to Freeze Hunters Chicken
Cover your oven dishes with either cling film or a plastic lid and leave them to cool.
Let the dishes cool completely before putting them in the freezer.
I recently invested in a set of these glass oven dishes with reusable plastic lids.
I save on using cling film but they are also stackable even before they’re frozen which I find much more convenient. If I’m using cling film I have to find spaces in my freezer with nothing stacked on top until the dishes are fully frozen. With these plastic lids I can easily stack my dishes while they freeze.
Once your Hunters Chicken has cooled down completely put the tubs into your fridge. Once they are chilled pop them in your freezer to freeze.
How to Defrost Hunters Chicken
For best results (as they say) take your tub of Hunters Chicken out of the freezer a day or two before you plan to eat it.
I like to plan my meals a few days in advance and choose from the defrosted meals on the day. That way there’s still some room for spontaneity.
But don’t worry if you forget, you can defrost your Hunters Chicken in the microwave. Just pop it on defrost for about 10 minutes. Make sure that it is completely defrosted before you start to cook it.
How to Serve Hunters Chicken
We like it with homemade chips and a couple of frozen vegetables.
I do hope that my Hunters Chicken recipe has inspired you to have a go at batch cooking..
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A Note on Food Safety
Freezing and defrosting food really isn’t complicated. But it terrifies me how many people aren’t familiar with basic food hygiene so if you’re new to cooking from scratch and freezing please follow these safety guidlines.
The important things to remember are:
- Wash your hands and anything else that has been in contact with raw meat.
- Meals should last for about 3 days in the fridge.
- Do not defrost your meals at room temperature.
- Do not refreeze meals you have already defrosted.
- Consume food before the use by date.
A Little Bit About Me . . .
Hi there! Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner of the interweb. I’m Bridie.
Each week I cook up a big batch of a single meal. Most of it goes in the freezer, then it’s just defrost and reheat or sling it in the oven. Even on busy school nights my family get to enjoy healthy home cooked meals that my kids actually eat.
Each week I share a new recipe on my blog. Most of my meals cost less than £1 per portion.
I really hope that my ideas can help other people to stretch their budgets.
I’ve included links to my favourite retailers for the products I’ve used to make my crafts. Click on any of the product images and links for full details. If you decide to buy any of these products I may get a small percentage of what you spend. There’s no cost to you at all.
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