Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

You can wrap just about anything in bacon and I will devour it.  The other day I had bacon-wrapped water chestnuts and about died from the deliciousness.  More things should be wrapped in bacon.  No offense to any vegetarians or vegans out there, but.....BACON.  It just makes life better!  And combined with this delicious homemade teriyaki sauce and the sweet pineapple, it's really hard to beat!  You can use the store bought teriyaki sauce on this, but I really recommend trying the homemade at least once--it is so tasty!  Also, if you're getting your pineapple on, these little skewers are delicious with the lime cilantro pineapple rice recipe I posted a couple days ago.

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Number of Servings: 4-5

Time to Prepare: 5 hours

• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp cold water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1" or 1 1/2" chunks (you want about 36 pieces of chicken)
• 12 slices of bacon, cut into thirds
• 20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained (I've also used fresh pineapple and it turns out great)

In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, and pepper and whisk together.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat and allow to cool while you prep the skewers.

Wrap a piece of bacon (1/3 of a slice) around a chunk of chicken and secure with a toothpick, then top with a pineapple chunk.  Place in a sturdy, gallon-size Ziploc bag and continue with remaining skewers until you've used all the bacon and chicken. 

Reserve about 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce and pour the rest over the skewers in the bag.  Seal and let marinate in the fridge for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place skewers on a rack (I just use a cooling rack) over a rimmed baking sheet and baste with half the reserved teriyaki sauce.  Bake for 10 minutes, turn over, and baste with remaining teriyaki sauce.  Bake another 10 minutes.

Source: slightly adapated from Our Best Bites

Produce Used: Garlic, pineapple