Have you heard of Balmoral chicken? This Scottish favourite is a really simple recipe that is perfect for entertaining.
It's basically boneless and skinless chicken stuffed with haggis and wrapped in streaky bacon.
It's so easy to make and it's a delicious dish that is a great introduction to anyone trying haggis for the first time.
Perfect for making in advance for fuss free entertaining too.
Enjoy!
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🤔 FAQs
This popular Scottish dish is named after Balmoral castle, the Scottish home of the royal family.
It's difficult to find the history of this dish, which is also known as chicken Balmoral or Highland chicken. Perhaps it was originally served at the castle in years gone by.
However, it is still a very popular dish that is traditionally served on Burn's night as an alternative to haggis.
Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish that resembles a crumbly sausage.
Traditionally, oatmeal was the primary ingredient that gives the main texture. Then, it is mixed with onions and the heart, liver and lungs from a sheep. This is known as a sheep's pluck.
Today, it is often made with the organs from beef or pork. It is often popular as a vegetarian version too, with nuts, lentils, mushrooms and pearl barley, featuring in the ingredients.
The ingredients are mixed together with onion, salt and plenty of pepper, then it's stuffed in a casing, called a bung, like a giant fat sausage.
Typically, the bung would be a sheep's stomach, but now many non animal casings are used.
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Prepare in advance.
- Simple to make.
- Great entertaining idea for a dinner party or burns night.
- Delicious with other stuffings.
- Perfect served with a whiskey sauce for haggis.
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🥘 Ingredients
- Chicken – boneless and skinless chicken breasts, about 200 grams each.
- Haggis - haggis is widely available in most supermarkets in the winter months. You will only need about ¼ of a haggis for this recipe.
- Bacon - smoked streaky or belly bacon for flavour and to secure the chicken with the haggis stuffing.
- Butter - salted or unsalted butter. If you use salted butter adjust the seasoning accordingly.
- Salt - flaked sea salt.
- Pepper - freshly ground black pepper.
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.
🍽 Equipment
- sharp knife
- chopping board
- cocktail sticks
- pastry brush
- oven proof tray
- kitchen paper
🔪 Instructions
Wipe the chicken dry with kitchen paper and trim any pieces of fat.
Carefully make a slit in the chicken in the side of the breast about 5 centimetres or two inches in length.
Divide the haggis into four pieces and place each piece inside the chicken.
Chop the haggis, if needed, to stuff the chicken.
Wrap each stuffed chicken breast with two slices of the bacon and secure with a cocktail stick.
Place the chicken on the oven proof dish.
Melt the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds on high, or in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Use a pastry brush to cover the top of the chicken.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
Check that the meat is cooked through by seeing if the juices run clear, when poked with a skewer, in the thickest part of the meat.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. This makes the chicken easier to slice.
Remember to remove the cocktail sticks before serving.
Serve in slices, or simply cut in half, with a generous portion of whiskey sauce.
🥗 Serve with
Delicious with traditional 'neeps and tatties', mashed potato and mashed swede, or try one of these side dishes.
- Honey Roast Chantenay Carrots
- Leeks in White Sauce
- Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips
- Fried Cabbage with Bacon
- Roast Savoy Cabbage
- Whole Baked Cauliflower Cheese
- Roasted Green Beans and Carrots
- Roasted Long Stem Broccoli
- Roasted Swede Chips
- Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
🥙 Substitutions
- Haggis - if you prefer not to use real haggis, it's easy to find a vegetarian version instead.
- Sausage - use a really good peppery sausage, like Cumberland in place of haggis.
📖 Variations
- Braemar chicken - this is very similar to Balmoral chicken but black pudding is used as a stuffing instead.
- Bacon - wrap with proscuitto or serrano, for a more elegant finish.
🍣Storage
- Refrigerator - cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Freezer - wrap in an airtight bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheat - wrap in foil and reheat in the oven or serve cold.
🍱 Prepare in Advance
- Prepare the balmoral chicken recipe ready for cooking then cover and refrigerate until required up to 24 hours before cooking.
More poultry and game recipes to try
- Slow Cooker Turkey Crown
- Devilled Chicken
- Chicken Ballotine
- Coronation Chicken
- Turkey and Ham Pie
- Pheasant Breast and Wild Mushroom Sauce
- Roast Pigeon
- Pheasant and Venison Casserole
- Spatchcock Duck
📋 Recipe
Chicken Balmoral
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Cocktail sticks
- Pastry brush
- oven proof tray
- Kitchen paper
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 100 g haggis
- 8 slices smoked streaky bacon
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Wipe the chicken dry with kitchen paper.
- Carefully make a slit in the chicken in the side of the breast about 5 centimetres or two inches in length.
- Divide the haggis into four pieces and place each piece inside the chicken.
- Wrap each stuffed chicken breast with two slices of the bacon and secure with a cocktail stick.
- Place the chicken on the oven proof dish.
- Melt the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds on high, or in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Use a pastry brush to cover the top of the chicken.
- Season with the salt and pepper.
- Pre heat the oven to 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the juices run clear.
- Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice or cut into halves and serve.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article
Chicken and Turkey
- Chicken Sausage Rolls35 Minutes
- Baked Crispy BBQ Chicken Wings1 Hours 5 Minutes
- Slow Cooker Turkey Crown4 Hours 30 Minutes
- Devilled Chicken17 Minutes
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using gas.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe?
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Kathleen
This flavor packed balmoral chicken looks and sounds fabulous!
Lima Ekram
What an interesting recipe! Cant wait to try it!
Beth
OH, wow! That looks really good. I have to say, I've never seen chicken like that before. I can't wait to try it.
Amy
This recipe is so good! I love how you can turn ordinary chicken breasts into a stuffed treat!
Sara Welch
This was everything a gourmet meal should be, and then some! Easily, a new favorite recipe; my whole family loved it!
Charla
Sounds like a great recipe and one that my sister in law would eat in a heartbeat. Thanks for sharing!
Dannii
We are always looking for new ways to cook with chicken and this looks incredible.
Ieva
Lovely recipe! My husband was never keen on the idea of haggis so I didn't tell him what the chicken was stuffed with and he absolutely loved it! I guess your recipe converted him! 🙂 Thanks, we both enjoyed it!
Ned
You had me with bacon on this one! I love how it keeps the chicken tender and delicious. Thank you!
Sarah James
Your Balmoral Chicken looks delicious and perfect for Burn's night. I love haggis and can't wait to try your recipe especially with the whiskey sauce.
Mahy
I have never tried the balmoral chicken before. Definitely on my to-try list right now 😉
Katherine
Thanks for such detailed info! This is perfect for Burns Night.
Gail C
Hi. I would like to make the Balmoral chicken in advance. If I cook it first and cool it and store it in the fridge what temperature fan oven would I need and how long would I need to cook it. This will help me plan my cooking times. Also are the cooking times and temperature the same if I freeze it? Thanks.
Amanda
Hi Gail, Chicken can dry out if it is reheated so, if you want to cook it in advance I would recommend reheating at the same temperature but covering the dish with foil to stop it drying out. 20 minutes should be fine. If you freeze it, then defrost it and reheat the same way. I have to say that I don't think it will be as good as freshly made but I know that finding time to do everything can be hard. Best wishes, Amanda