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Chukar, Cheese, and Bacon Rolls Recipe

Warm, cheesy, bacon-y, chukar-y goodness.

Chukar, Cheese, and Bacon Rolls Recipe
Chukar is a great substitute for chicken in "Costco Chicken Bakes". (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley)

If you’re a fan of Costco’s chicken bake, then you’ll like this recipe. Lots of melted cheese, meat, bacon, and green onion encased in light pizza crust—what's not to like? In addition to chukar, quail, pheasant, and wild turkey breasts would work, too.

Don’t overthink cooking the meat—it just needs to be cooked. Poached in chicken stock, roasted in the oven, or seared in a pan, they all work. Lightly salt the meat, because all the cheese and bacon will provide more than enough sodium. Although you could get away with using the meat off chukar or quail legs for this recipe, I’d caution against using pheasant or wild turkey legs because they will probably be too tough. However, you could slow cook them until tender if you can dedicate the time.

If you prefer an ooey-gooey filling, choose an Italian blend of cheeses that’s made of primarily mozzarella. If you’re looking for more punchy, funky flavors, look for blends with more Parmesan, asiago, and/or fontina. You can also make your own blend by buying blocks of cheese and shredding them yourself.

For the pizza dough, refrigerated or frozen premade pizza dough at the store works great. I use Trader Joe’s Ready-to-Bake Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough, and it tastes wonderful. Pillsbury Pizza Crust also is a good option, but you’d have to slightly stretch or roll out the dough to get four 10x6-inch rectangles.


These rolls make good leftovers, and they reheat well in the oven. If you decide to freeze these rolls after they’ve been baked, wrap them in foil first before reheating them in a 350° Fahrenheit oven until fully heated through.

Special Equiptment: Parchment paper

Dough filled with chukar and topped with cheese on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Cheese is added to the top of the rolls for crunch and flavor. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley)

Chukar, Cheese, and Bacon Rolls

Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour


Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cooked chukar breast meat, large dice
  • 1 pound of pizza dough
  • 6 slices of thick-cut bacon
  • 2 cups of shredded Italian-style cheese, plus extra
  • 4 green onions, chopped
  • 1⁄2 cup of mayonnaise, preferably Kewpie
  • 1⁄4 cup of all-purpose flour, for dusting
  • 1⁄4 cup of Caesar dressing
  • Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Thaw pizza dough, if needed, and then set it out on the counter at room temperature for 1 hour prior to assembling rolls. Chukar breasts can be gently poached in chicken broth or seared in a pan with oil, whatever is easiest. Shoot for slightly underdone—about 150° Fahrenheit internal temperature—because the meat will cook further when baked in the rolls.
  2. Cook bacon. I prefer the oven method: Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Lay bacon on a rimmed cookie sheet in one layer, and bake for 10-15 minutes on the middle rack, or until cooked to your liking. Drain on paper towels, and then chop into small pieces.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of shredded cheese, 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise, chopped green onion, and cracked pepper.
  4. Preheat oven to 400°. Turn out pizza dough onto a floured surface and divide it into four equal pieces. Roll out a piece of pizza dough into a 10x6-inch oval/rectangle, dusting with flour to prevent sticking if needed. Lightly brush the entire surface with Caesar dressing. Then, spread out 1⁄4 of the cheese mixture down the length of the dough and sprinkle with 1⁄4 of the diced chukar meat and bacon. Make a log by pinching together the long edges and then fold over both ends to seal. Lay the roll seam side down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough, cheese, chukar, and bacon.
  5. Leave at least 2 inches between each roll. Brush Caesar dressing on the outside of each roll and then sprinkle with extra cheese—if you like, use more cheese than pictured. Bake in a 400° oven for 15 -17 minutes, until rolls look golden brown. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
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