Homemade bacon bits question

I am planning on making a recipe that calls for bacon bits. I do not have any, so I am planning on making them them at home. The bacon bits will be part of a coating (bacon bits, bread crumbs, cheese) that will be used on chicken and then baked for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. I'm worried about the bacon bits burning in the oven, so my question is: Should I fully cook the bacon bits before I add them into the breading mixture? Or do I let them cook in the oven while the chicken cooks?

Spor
  • Posted by: Spor
  • October 21, 2015
  • 3820 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

Spor
Spor October 22, 2015
I cooked them beforehand and chopped them before adding them to the coating. It turned out pretty well, but some of the bigger bits didn't stick. The recipe called for tenders, but I just used boneless skinless chicken and it turned out great.
 
Meaghan F.
Meaghan F. October 22, 2015
I wonder if you'd have better results cutting the bits AFTER cooking, rather than before? I think cooking them in the oven until crispy, then dicing or, depending on the size of the batch, maybe throwing them in a food processor.
 
QueenSashy
QueenSashy October 21, 2015
I am going back and forth on this. I made candied bacon recently and kept it in the oven about ten minutes longer than needed and meaty part was very bitter. But I could go either way, because as AJ pointed out, if you turn bacon bits to dust, they will behave differently. If you would like to play it really safe, you could separate the meaty parts of the bacon from the fatty parts and make the bits separately, that would allow you to bake the meaty bits a bit less, since fat takes longer to crisp.
 
Susan W.
Susan W. October 21, 2015
I agree with AJ. Cook them fully because they'll be mixed with the coating etc. and very possibly will remain in the cooked state that they are in or possibly a shade darker. It sounds delicious. Are they chicken strips/tenders? I've never thought to add bacon. Yum!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames October 21, 2015
If they are chopped finely - which should be in the case, if you want to coating to adhere effectively -- and mixed well with the other coating ingredients, you should be fine with them fully cooked. In fact, under the circumstances, you should not expect all of them to cook much more anyway as part of the coating. I say, cook them thoroughly, but make sure they are not too dark.

I'm interested in everyone else's thoughts on this . . . .

;o)
 
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