These bacon wrapped chicken strips are a delicious main course or appetizer for the summer season. Chicken tenderloins are seasoned with a bold, zesty blend of spices. Then, they are wrapped in bacon, slathered in BBQ sauce, and smoked until tender and juicy.
I’m a firm believer that bacon makes everything better. I love making pancake bites with bacon for me and my guy as a hearty, delicious breakfast, or these easy bacon wrapped little smokies for any kind of event.
With summer here, I’ve added a new bacony addition to my recipe rotation. I’ve taken advantage of my smoker and the warm weather to create these bacon wrapped chicken strips.
These tasty strips are juicy and tender on the inside, coated with crispy bacon and BBQ sauce on the outside, and smoked to perfection.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Limited Ingredients: All you need are chicken tenders, bacon, seasonings, and some BBQ sauce!
- So Easy: Just season, wrap, and smoke. That’s all there is to it!
- So Much Flavor: The bold blend of seasonings, bacon, and BBQ sauce gives these chicken strips deep, complex, sweet, and savory flavor.
- The Perfect Summer Treat: These chicken strips make a great appetizer, main course with sides, or even a sandwich filling.
- Freezer-Friendly: These chicken strips are freezer-friendly, making them perfect for meal prep.
Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Variations
- Chicken Strips: For deeper flavor, use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You could also use pork or steak strips, as well.
- Mild: Omit the red pepper flakes for a mild version of this recipe.
- Bacon: Use your favorite flavor of bacon for this recipe. They all work well and bring their own spin to the recipe.
- BBQ Sauce: Your favorite flavor of BBQ sauce will work. Try different variations for different flavor profiles.
- Wood: Use your favorite hardwood to smoke these chicken strips. Experiment with different kinds to find your favorite flavor.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Chicken Strips
Step 1: Whisk all the seasonings in a bowl.
Step 2: Dip each chicken tenderloin into the seasonings, coating each piece completely and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 3: Wrap each tenderloin in bacon until completely covered and secure with toothpicks.
Step 4: Brush BBQ sauce over the strips, place on a the grill grates.
Step 5: Smoke at 275 degrees, turning a few times, brushing with additional BBQ sauce, until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees.
Step 6: Turn the heat up to 400 degrees, brush with more BBQ sauce, and smoke for another 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Tips
- There’s no need to rinse your chicken strips. Studies shows it doesn’t remove bacteria, and that the splashing actually spreads bacteria over kitchen surfaces.
- If you use a traditional smoker or grill, be sure you soak your wood chips for at least 30 minutes to ensure they smoke rather than burn.
- Fully cover your chicken strips with bacon before smoking them. It usually takes about two strips.
- Rub your grates with oil before smoking to prevent sticking.
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Strips FAQ
Bacon wrapped chicken should be cooked for 25 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Smoked bacon wrapped chicken should be smoked for 2 ½ to 3 hours at 275 degrees. In both cases, the internal temperature should read 165 degrees.
Yes, you can. Bacon and chicken can be cooked at the same time. Wrapping the chicken in bacon is what gives it so much flavor.
In most cases, cooking bacon before wrapping food with it is unnecessary, as the food and the bacon will cook at the same time. However, for extremely crispy bacon, cook it partially so it is super crispy by the time the meat is done.
More Delicious Bacon Wrapped Recipes
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Bacon Wrapped Chicken Strips
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloin
- 3 pounds bacon
- 2 tablespoons Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1½ cups Stubbs original BBQ sauce, or your favorite
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 275 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk all the seasonings together.
- Dip each chicken tenderloin into the seasonings, coating each piece completely.
- Wrap each tenderloin with two pieces of bacon.
- Secure with toothpicks.
- Brush BBQ sauce all over each bacon wrapped chicken strip.
- Smoke for 1 ½- 2 hours, turning over and brushing with additional BBQ sauce.
- Once the internal temperature reaches 165, turn the smoked up to 400 degrees, brush with additional barbecue sauce and smoke for another half hour.
Notes
- Refrigerate for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- Freeze for up to 3 months wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
- Defrost overnight in the refrigerator if frozen, then microwave individual portions at 1-minute intervals until heated through.
- There’s no need to rinse your chicken strips. It’s been proven that it doesn’t remove bacteria, and that the splashing actually spreads bacteria over kitchen surfaces.
- If you use a traditional smoker or grill, be sure you soak your wood chips for at least 30 minutes to ensure they smoke rather than burn.
- Fully cover your chicken strips with bacon before smoking them. It usually takes about two strips.
- Rub your grates with oil before smoking to prevent sticking.
Nutrition
