Chicken Balmoral with Whisky Sauce

Classic flavours with a Scottish twist; this easy Chicken Balmoral with Whisky Sauce is great to serve up for Burns Day and beyond! Take the stress out of dinner with this recipe that offers both an airfryer and oven method. Plus top tips for making the perfect Chicken Balmoral as quick and easy as possible!

Juicy haqgis-stuffed chicken wrapped in smoky bacon and finished with a whisky sauce makes it feel properly indulgent without being complicated.

If you're a haggis-newbie, then Chicken Balmoral is a nice introduction if trying it for the first time. The fragrant peppery-spiciness is offset with juicy chicken and crisp bacon, which most people are familiar with.

Other Haggis Recipe Suggestions

A question I'm asked a lot is if Scottish people really eat haggis as much as it seems we do. And the answer is yes! Some of my favourites include:

• Haggis Supper (haggis and chips) is a favourite of mine from the local chippy (chip shop)
• Haggis Toastie with cheese and caramelised onion chutney
• Haggis Hoagie (wrap/burrito)
• Haggis Pizza
• Haggis Loaded Fries - drenched in Peppercorn sauce
• and even Haggis Pasta

What Is Haggis?

But even more often, I'm asked: "what is haggis? What is in it"

Haggis is the national food of Scotland. Other iconic foods include Cullen Skink, Stovies, Cranachan, Scotch Broth and Steak Pie (for New Year). But none of them hold a torch to the famous "Great chieftain o' the puddin-race".

Haggis is a savoury pudding - similar to black/blood pudding - of offal (typically lambs lungs, liver and heart), oats, suet (animal fat), and spices.

While traditionally encased in a sheep's stomach, modern haggis often uses synthetic casing. It's available to buy fresh from local butchers and supermarkets or even from a tin.

Although often considered uniquely Scottish (I'm happy to claim it), its origins stems from as far back as preserving organ meat was a necessity. As it's been cited in various literature from around the world as far back as 800BC. Haggis became a staple food for Highlanders when travelling, with its popularity secured by Robert Burns in his poem "Address to a Haggis".

Ingredients

Chicken Balmoral

• Chicken breasts
• Haggis
• Smoked streaky bacon (or Parma ham)

Considering the main component of this recipe has 3 primary ingredients, I would recommend sourcing the best you can. I've linked through to my favourites above. The haggis pictured above is the 2025 World's Best Haggis winner and the Smoked Streaky Bacon has a Great Taste Award.

Whisky Sauce

• Salted Butter
• Whisky
• Beef Stock: I've used OXO here but a good quality Beef Bone Broth would be great to use too.
• Mustard: I use dijon mustard as it provides a subtler heat than its yellow English cousin. So reduce the volume by half if using English mustard.
• Cream: double cream (heavy cream) provides the richness we need to balance out the whisky. Substitute with single cream at your peril!
• Salt + White Pepper

Alternatively, you could use my Peppercorn Sauce recipe.

What To Serve With Chicken Balmoral

Traditional Sides ("Neeps and Tatties")

• Mashed Potatoes (Tatties): Creamy mashed potatoes are the classic pairing to soak up the sauce.
• Mashed Swede/Turnip/Rutabaga (Neeps): Often mashed with butter, these offer a sweet, earthy contrast to the peppery haggis.
• Clapshot: A traditional Orkney dish combining mashed potatoes and turnip (neeps) with chives. 

Vegetables

• Buttered Greens: Fine green beans, asparagus, broccoli or savoy cabbage cut through the richness of the bacon and cream sauce.
• Root Vegetables: Roasted carrots or parsnips provide a sweet, roasted texture.
• Rumbledethumps: A Scottish dish made of mashed potatoes, turnips, and cabbage baked with a cheese topping.

Essential Sauces

• Creamy Whisky Sauce: The most popular pairing, made with Scottish whisky, cream, and chicken stock.
• Peppercorn Sauce: A spicy alternative that cuts through the creaminess. 

How to make Chicken Balmoral with Whisky Sauce

Chicken Balmoral 

Butterfly each chicken breast by cutting an opening in the middle down the thickest side of the breast .

Optional (but recommended): place the chicken breast between sheets of cling-film and tenderise it using a meat hammer (this will also make it easier to shape around the haggis filling).

Divide haggis into 2 equal portions and stuff the middle of each chicken breast with haggis then fold over to close.

Overlap 8 rashers of bacon (or Parma ham), which should be enough to fully cover the chicken breast and roll the bacon around the chicken. You may need to tighten the edges as it tapers. Use toothpicks to secure the bacon in place to ensure an aesthetic end result.

You can store in the fridge (for up to 3-4 days) until you plan to cook them.

To Cook: either airfry OR seal the outside of the Chicken Balmoral in a frying pan first before baking in the oven

Top Tips For The BEST Chicken Balmoral

To ensure you get the most aesethically pleasing and most secure Chicken Balmoral, then make sure to:

• use large chicken breasts (it's why I recommend 300g per breast) - as they provide a bigger surface area for a significant haggis stuffing
• use the meat mallet to tenderise the chicken and even it out - this will enable you to roll the chicken around the haggis, ensuring a perfectly round aesthetic cross-section when you cut into it
• use either streaky bacon or parma ham (not back bacon)
• use toothpicks to secure the bacon, as otherwise it could curl and detach from the chicken breast when cooking
• if using the oven method, make sure you render the fat by sealing the outside of the Chicken Balmoral in a frying pan first (as otherwise the fat won't be as crispy as the airfryer method)

Whisky Sauce

Melt butter in a pan and add whisky. Set whisky alight with either a long lighter or match and wait until all the alcohol cooks off.

Add mustard, beef stock & double cream - simmer for a few minutes then season with salt & pepper.

If you allow the sauce to ‘sit’ for a further few minutes after you’ve turned the heat off it will thicken some more