Love gourmet without the hefty price tag?! This bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb butter is cost effective (using on sale items,) and a great gourmet meal that is simple to make!
This is a sponsored post. I was fortunate enough to receive products from PURE. Though products were received, all opinions are my own and I would not recommend a product that I did not enjoy.
The photos and recipe for this bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb butter have been updated as of February 28th, 2017!
I love when meals bring me back to my childhood and I can share with you my family's cooking secrets. However, I am not doing that today.
What?! Then why would you bring it up, Kacey?!
Well, to be fair, in creating this recipe I did think back to a recipe in my childhood, but the one I created today will hopefully be carried on through my family as "one of those" memorable recipes.
It all began with the arrival of PURE Infused Maple Syrups on my doorstep. I was soooo excited not only to work with them, but to try all their flavors. As a Canadian, we are known for our maple syrup, and yet many people (including me, for shame!) have the artificial syrups in their houses that are actually made with corn syrup. You may think there is little difference, but trust me, as soon as you pour the maple syrup out you will notice a difference in viscosity and appearance. Once you get a taste, there is no going back to the artificial stuff!
PURE offers 5 different infused maple syrups, including:
Vanilla, Cinnamon, & Star Anise
Maple Syrup, Ginger, & Apple Cider Vinegar (Gastrique)
For today's bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb butter, I knew I wanted to use something unique but also something that paired nicely with the meal. I decided to use PURE's Lavender and Chai infused maple syrup because rosemary and lavender are a perfect pair not only in the garden, but in cooking as well!
Holy moly, bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb butter?! That sounds long, difficult, and a bit out of my league. Trust me, this dish is super easy to make and when cooked in the oven, it is done in just over an hour. The recipe could easily be made in the slow cooker, but you would probably want to broil the chicken afterwards to brown the bacon.
PS. I plan to make this maple-herb butter again for other cuts of chicken, as well as other meats. It was so flavorful without being overly sweet. You can easily adjust your maple syrup ratio, so taste as you go! I wonder what vegetarian recipe I could use this maple-herb butter in...
📖 Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Whole Chicken with Maple-Herb Butter
Quick & simple, this bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb butter is so tasty it's bound to make people think they are eating gourmet!
Ingredients
- 1 (4 lb) whole chicken, insides removed
- 8-10 slices bacon
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- Salt and pepper
- Maple-Herb Butter:
- 1 tbsp.fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
- ¼ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup (I used Pure's Lavender and Chai infused maple syrup!) + more for drizzling.
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and pepper
- Gravy:
- Chicken pan drippings
- 1 tbsp. flour (or more if necessary)
- ½ cup white wine
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- To make the maple-herb butter, combine the butter, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Pat your chicken dry. Season with salt and pepper, along with your veggies. Stuff the cavity with as much of the veggies as you can (I put a couple of garlic under the chicken skin.) I placed the leftover veggies into the pan beside the chicken. Pour broth into the bottom of a baking dish and place chicken on top. Rub the maple-herb butter all over the chicken until completely coated. Take your bacon and wrap it around the chicken.
- Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (or until internal temperature reaches 160F.) In last 5 minutes, drizzle bacon with syrup if desired.
- Remove chicken from pan and cover with aluminum foil to allow to rest while you make the gravy.
- To make the gravy, pour pan drippings into a large pan and heat over medium. Pour in white wine and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the flour and whisk constantly until thickened (I generally cook my sauces for about 5 minutes to really get that flour taste out.)
- Slice the chicken and serve with gravy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 391Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 918mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 21g
As I said, DEFINITELY not something from my childhood, but it did remind me of my family. I don't want to give too much away because I plan to post the other recipes, but just remember my dad likes to throw in a bunch of random ingredients into a meal. However, I know my dad would LOVE this bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb bacon because it is everything he loves in a meal (with no onion!)
My sister is also a big fan of maple bacon, so when there was about 5-10 minutes left during the cooking process of this chicken, I made sure to remove it from the oven and drizzle it with additional PURE Lavender and Chai infused maple syrup. Popped it back into the oven and allowed the maple syrup to spread over the meat and drip into the juices below. Yum!
And don't throw out those pan drippings!! I turned mine into a "light" gravy. I say "light" because you have to remember there is not only chicken fat in the drippings, but bacon fat, so the gravy is quite... well, delicious, but totally not healthy! Nonetheless, it was a hit for my husband and daughter. My daughter kept dipping her spoon back into the gravy, so I say that is a win! Reminder: while the bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb butter is gluten-free, the gravy is not, so make sure to adjust accordingly if necessary.
This is a sponsored post. I was fortunate enough to receive products from PURE. Though products were received, all opinions are my own and I would not recommend a product that I did not enjoy.
Love this bacon wrapped whole chicken with maple-herb butter?! Try some of these recipes:
Bacon-Wrapped Whole Turkey with Herb Butter
Joanie @ ZagLeft
Goodness, all the bacon cooked on top of the chicken must be absolutely delicious! And that infused maple syrup sounds like a product I need to try!
Kacey
It definitely is! All the flavours are wonderful, but lavender worked so well with the fresh rosemary in this recipe.
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat.
Wow, that looks amazing! Love the maple-herb butter, that is such a great idea!
Kacey
Thanks, Stacey 🙂
Laura @ Petite Allergy Treats
Yesss please! All the wonderful things wrapped into one with plenty of bacon. That infused maple syrup sounds wonderful!
Kacey
These maple syrups would probably work in a lot of your recipes, Laura!
Lauren @ Wicked Spatula
Love this! That herb butter sounds amazing!
Kacey
Thanks, Lauren!
Chrisy @ Homemade Hooplah
I think you just blew my mind with this. My guy is always asking for baked chicken but I could never figure out a way to dress it up so that I might enjoy it, too - until I saw this recipe. Bacon and maple herb butter? Yeah, I'm totally picking up a chicken this week.
Kacey
Haha! I am so happy to help! My husband was all over this, and he has me enlisted to make a soup from the stock I make from the bones. He said the sweetness in the gravy was just perfect from the maple syrup.
Andi @ The Weary Chef
This is officially the most epic meal I've ever seen! Yum!
Kacey
Pretty sure you took the words right out of my husband's mouth!
Roxana
Oh my gosh, this looks perfect!
Kacey
Thanks, Roxana!
amanda @ fake ginger
Lavender and chai maple syrup?! I'm so bad and I always get the sugarfree "syrup" made with Splenda but I'm totally ordering some of that! This chicken looks delicious!
Kacey
Yay! Thanks, Amanda (and we all can admit to some food faux paux!)
Kate @ Diethood
I just saw this on FB and I am speechless!! SO dang delicious!! Out of this world amazing! Ok... that's not so speechless, huh? 😉
Kacey
Lol, keep those words coming!!
Cate | Chez CateyLou
This is an awesome creation! The maple butter alone would make this chicken amazing, but that bacon - yum! I want this for dinner !!
Kacey
Thanks, Cate! That maple butter is going to be a big thing in our house 🙂
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen
everybody loves bacon and this just made my mouth water!
Roxanne Roop
Having this tonight!
Kacey
Enjoy!
Jessica
Where do you get maple herb butter?
Kacey
You make it yourself 🙂 The steps are listed at the top of the instructions (mixing butter, herbs, and maple together.)
Caitie M.
I am planning on roasting a chicken for dinner tonight, and yesterday when I took it out of the freezer to thaw I thought to myself, "What if I covered it with bacon before I roasted it? Is that completely crazy, or just crazy enough to work?" Just to make sure, I googled the concept, and your blog post was the first link that popped up. I LOVE the idea of using a bit of maple syrup to add a touch of breakfast-y sweetness to the whole thing (I have a massive sweet tooth). And on a side note, I think all those PURE syrup flavors sound delightful. I'm down in the states along the Rockies, and it's almost all corn syrup down here. I may have to try to get my hands on some of that good stuff. Thanks for sharing!
Kacey
Yes!! So many people have never even had real maple syrup! I actually bought a chicken the other day to revisit this recipe so I hope everything worked out for you 🙂 My parents actually add a touch of maple syrup to their burgers, too (which I have continued.)
Lisa
This looks amazing. And it's happening tonight. Thank goodness for Pinterest. 🙂
Kacey
Haha, Pinterest can be so dangerous! Let me know how it turns out 🙂