Chicken Balmoral is a delicious classic Scottish dish of chicken breast stuffed with haggis and wrapped in bacon then served with a whisky sauce. I’ve made my Balmoral Bites in mini scale as an appetiser or for perfect party food.
Haggis is not just served with neeps and tatties (potatoes and swede) as many folks think. No, this classic Scottish dish can be served in many ways and one of the most popular is Chicken Balmoral (Balmoral Chicken).
You’ll find this delicious dish on the menu at many an up-market Scottish restaurant.
Tucking good quality spicy haggis into a juicy succulent chicken breast then wrapping the whole thing in tasty bacon is foodie heaven. Throw in a rich and creamy whisky sauce and you have Scotland on a plate.
Burns Night
For anyone out there who is not au fait with Burns Night let me just say that it is the celebration of the birth of Scotland’s most famous bard – Robert (Rabbie) Burns, writer of many a good poem and song and a bit of a lad by all accounts!
If you have ever sung Auld Lang Syne at New Year then you know this chap already as that little ditty is his most well-known work. He wrote so many others but some of my favourites are; Tam O’Shanter, My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose and Ae Fond Kiss.
If you’d like to know more about Burns Night then head over to the BBC page for loads of great information, recipes, videos and fun facts.
A Wee Taste Of Scotland
This wee recipe for Chicken Balmoral Bites is from my book A Wee Taste Of Scotland . This is available on Amazon worldwide both in print and digital format.
Ingredients for chicken Balmoral bites
- You’ll need 1 chicken breast fillet
- 3 rashers of streaky bacon (or course Ayrshire bacon is best if you can get it – just biased as I live there!)
- 200g/7 oz of cooked haggis
- black pepper and dried sage
Now that’s for the Balmoral Bites themselves. Now you need something a wee bit tasty to dip them in –
The Whisky Dipping Sauce.
- For this you’ll need some chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons of Scotch whisky
- some double cream
- a teaspoon of mustard and a wee dab of butter.
How to make Balmoral bites
First, you want to slice the chicken fillet into thinner pieces and then flatten these out as you want to be able to wrap the haggis in the chicken
Flatten and stretch the bacon slices so they will wrap around the chicken
Now, the inner haggis. Using precooked haggis roll it into little sausage shapes and then wrap with the chicken and then the bacon
Sprinkle with herbs and seasoning and bake in the oven
Making the whisky dipping sauce
Heat the chicken stock, add whisky and reduce then stir in the cream, mustard and butter and season to taste.
How many does this recipe serve
This recipe will make 12 little Balmoral Bites so is ideal if you have a few folks round for Burns Night and want something just a wee bit Scottish to add to your nibble platter.
These chicken balmoral bites are perfect for a New Year gathering too of course!
Classic Balmoral Chicken
You can use the same ingredients for these Balmoral Bites to make a single portion of the traditional Chicken Balmoral. Simply slit the chicken fillet to create a pocket.
Stuff this with the haggis and wrap the whole thing in bacon and bake. Remember to cook for longer as the chicken here is thicker than in the bites.
Looking for more Scottish inspired party nibbles to make? Then check out these recipes before you go;
Smoked salmon on tattie/potato scones
Seared salmon and whisky dipping sauce
Prawns and bacon party skewers
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Chicken Balmoral Bites
Ingredients
- 150 g chicken 1 chicken breast fillet
- 100 g bacon 3 rashers of streaky bacon
- 200 g haggis cooked
- black pepper
- 1/2 tsp sage dried
Whisky cream dipping sauce
- 200 ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp Scotch whisky
- 100 ml double cream heavy cream
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
- Slice chicken fillet horizontally into 3 parts.
- Lay slices on cling film and cover with another layer and using a rolling pin hammer to flatten the slices as thin as possible without tearing the meat, you want strips about 3cm x 12 cm.
- Flatten and stretch the bacon slices in the same way and cut to similar length.
- Take teaspoons of the cooked haggis and roll into small sausage shapes.
- Wrap each haggis sausage in the chicken and then in the bacon.
- Pierce the bundles with a small skewer to secure and sprinkle with pepper and dried sage.
- Seal all the Balmoral Bites in a foil package and bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, opening the foil for the last 5 minutes to allow them to brown a little.
making the whisky cream sauce
- Gently heat the chicken stock in a small pan along with the whisky, bring to the boil and bubble till reduced by a third.
- Add cream and mustard and stir well.
- Add butter and continue stirring for 5 minutes, add seasoning to taste.
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