Bacon Wrapped Chicken Pesto Mozzarella Bombs

Bacon, chicken thighs, mozzarella, home made pesto…what’s not to love! Feel free to experiment with different pesto styles and rubs, but these are amazing as-is!

YouTube Instructional: https://youtu.be/ZSoVlK3w50Y

Makes 4 Bombs!

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken thighs

• Pack of cheap bacon

• Ball of Mozzarella Cheese

Chicken rub Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp Kosher Salt

• 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder

• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

• 1/2 Tsp Paprika

Pesto Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves

• 2 Tbsp Pine Nuts

• 2 Garlic Cloves

• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil

• 1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese

Step 1: Season the Chicken

Trim off some of the fat and “square” up the chicken thighs (remove the bone if using bone-in)

Apply a light coat of olive oil, and coat the chicken in the rub.

Place on wire rack in the fridge.

Step 2: Make the Pesto

Using a food processor or blender, blend up the Basil Leaves, Pine nuts, and garlic cloves. Once it is pulsed and mixed up well, slowly add in olive oil and keep pulsing until you reach your desired consistancy.

At this point, add in the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Step 3: Roll up the bombs

Put a layer of our pesto onto each thigh, and a few thin slices of mozz to cover the thigh. Roll each thigh up and using 2-3 strips of bacon, completely cover the chicken roll.

Repeat for the remaining thighs

Step 4: Smoke the bombs

Preheat smoker to 225 degrees, and place chicken on top rack for appx 2 hours.

Then bump temp to 275 for appx an hour and a half to let bacon crisp.

You can let the chicken temp go above 165 since we using chicken thighs not breasts. I let mine go to about 175

Enjoy!