Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

So since Sara is off frolicking in Hawaii, I thought we'd have a little taste of Hawaii here today!

This is one of my favorite fun foods, especially because you can serve it as an appetizer or as a meal. It's a twist on Teriyaki chicken and you're going to be pretty hard-pressed to find people, especially men, unimpressed by meat wrapped in meat and then grilled. And speaking of grilled, these can be done in your oven, but for the truly transcendental experience, they're best on the grill. I know, I know, stop with the grill recipes already, especially those of you in Utah who just got dumped with another snowstorm! But it is 72 degrees here and I'm going to ENJOY it because goodness knows, it's was a dreary, ugly winter and pretty soon, it's going to be too hot to breathe. So humor me, okay?

Now...for appetizer skewers*, I do one piece of meat topped with one chunk of pineapple on a toothpick. If you decide to grill these, your life will be a lot easier if you use a disposable grill pan. For meal-sized skewers, I do three chunks of pineapple alternated with three pieces of meat on the long skewers and allow two skewers per person. Whatever you do, if you think it's going to be no big deal to make enough of these for 75 dinner-sized servings, it IS a big deal and you SHOULD enlist help; otherwise, you're going to be wrapping chicken in bacon at 2:00 in the morning, making it through 2 entire discs of Gilmore Girls. Not that I'm speaking from ANY kind of firsthand experience here...

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

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1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs

About 8 oz. lean bacon, NOT thick-sliced (thick bacon is too hard to work with in this recipe)

1 large can pineapple chunks (you won't use all of them)

Homemade Teriyaki sauce (the best!) or Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze

Kebab skewers or toothpicks

Now...the easiest way to handle the bacon situation is to remove it from the package and while it's still all stuck together, stretch it out a little (lengthwise). If you're using center-cut bacon (and the "slab" is not as wide as regular bacon), just cut it in half. Otherwise, use kitchen shears to cut the slab into thirds. Refrigerate until ready to use, partially because it's easier to work with cold bacon and partially because you don't want to kill any dinner guests with dead pig germs.

Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can gauge about how many pieces you'll need by how many pieces of bacon you have; you probably won't use all the bacon, but you'll need about 8 oz. or 2/3 of a standard-sized package of bacon. So count the bacon pieces and keep that in mind when cutting up your chicken.

Drain the pineapple and set up a little work station with skewers, bacon, chicken, and a 9x13 baking dish (for big skewers) or a sturdy Ziploc bag (for toothpick skewers). Wrap a piece of bacon around a chicken piece, secure with toothpick/skewer, and top with a chunk of pineapple. Repeat twice if using large skewers. When all chicken pieces have been sufficiently staked, pour Teriyaki sauce over everything, reserving about 1/4 c., and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, no longer than about 8.

Preheat grill**; when about 350-400 degrees, place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki sauce. Cook about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again and cook another 7 minutes.

*If serving at a party, you can keep the appetizer-sized skewers warm in a crockpot set to low or an electric roaster set to 170 degrees.

**If cooking in oven, preheat oven to 400 and bake about 20 minutes, turning once, following the same basting instructions.

Wondering what to serve on the side? Try Pineapple Cilantro Rice, Caramelized Green Beans, and Brazilian Lemonade for an amazing meal with tropical flair! We love to de-skewer the meat and fruit and toss it in a bowl on top of rice.