Mmmmm. Is there anything better than the smell of bacon cooking? Why, yes. Yes, there is.

When it’s wrapped around deliciously spiced chicken! 😉

The store had some really nice legs and thighs on sale, but the skin was quite mangled and barely still attached. So there went my plan for making fried chicken.

So I just took the darn stuff off and I’m so glad that I did! I had a nice package of bacon in the fridge, and that sounded a whole lot tastier anyways. 😉

So I whipped up a spicy rub and hoped for the best!

The chicken pieces were very nice-sized, but not really the easiest to stuff with most of the bones inside. So I decided not to do any kind of filling in these. I figured we were going to be getting quite enough richness and extra calories from the bacon and it just wasn’t going to be needed.

I must say, that it was a good call.

I coated the pieces extremely well using every bit of the rub….

…then wrapped the legs and thighs with lots of lean, thick-cut bacon!

Don’t they look pretty? 😀

*Just sprinkle it on, don’t actually rub it in. All that does is rub it off.

I basted them with the “sauce” that was left on the baking sheet, and that worked really well giving the bacon even more flavor and a nice bit of glaze to help crisp them up.

I wanted as even of a baking as I could possibly get, so that the tops wouldn’t get overdone, and placed them on a just below center rack in the oven. Closer to the bottom really helped them bake up nice and evenly!

After an hour and 15 minutes of baking, they came out simply GORGEOUS. The bacon was perfectly done and lightly crispy, and the chicken was very flavorful , tender and juicy inside!

So simple, so easy, soooooo delicious!!

Nice enough for company, yet family-friendly enough for weeknights!

Though my hubby was able to eat two pieces, I couldn’t even finish one thigh, so this goes farther that you might think, too! Never a bad thing! 😀

We just had a simple swiss green bean casserole with this, but just about any vegetable, risotto, rice dish, noodles, mac ‘n cheese, pasta, or even a baked potato would go nicely! Add a salad and a piece of garlic bread, and your company may never want to leave!

So, I do hope that you find this recipe helpful for how to dress up boring chicken and make it special! It really is fun to make and what a presentation! Your family, loved one or company will be impressed! 😀

7 pieces of chicken

Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken Legs & Thighs

Ingredients

Spice Rub:

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 Tbl. paprika
1/2 Tbl. kosher salt
1/2 Tbl. garlic powder
1/2 Tbl. onion powder
3/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
3/4 tsp. creole seasoning
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. white pepper

Rest of Ingredients:

4 large bone-in chicken legs, skin removed/fat trimmed
3 large bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed/fat trimmed

Instructions

In a small to medium-sized bowl, mix together well the Spice Rub. Set aside.

Remove skin from pieces of chicken and coat each side well with spice rub using all of it.

Wrap each leg well with two slices bacon, and thighs with three. Place onto a rack placed onto a foil-lined baking sheet.

With a pastry brush, swirl leftover rub and juice on baking sheet until it's a sauce, baste tops and sides.

Pop into lower center of oven and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Turn sheet around and bake 30 minutes longer. Turn sheet one last time and bake until done, about 15 more minutes.

Serve hot.