This tasty little appetizer was introduced to me by my lovely Italian mother-in-law, which were eaten by my husband often growing up. If you scrunch up your nose at the mention of 'liver' - you will be a convert once you pop these delicious bacon delights into your mouth.

The smooth texture of the marinated chicken livers, along with the crunch of the water chestnuts and salty bacon balances out perfectly with the sprinkling of dark brown sugar on top. This is an awesome appetizer for the holidays or just an indulging snack.

These Teriyaki Chicken Liver Bacon Rumaki can be assembled ahead of time, ready to pop in the oven as your guests arrive. You can, by all means, change up the liver – any type will work here (pigs, lambs etc.) Enjoy!


Ingredients

1 tub of chicken livers
1/4 cup of great Teriyaki sauce
1 - 4 oz. can whole water chestnuts, drained and patted dry
1/2 lb. streaky bacon
Dark brown sugar for sprinkling
Toothpicks, foil, pan spray

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. First, trim the chicken livers of fat and cut them into pieces small enough to roll around a half slice of bacon (not too big, not too small.)

2. Place the trimmed livers into a plastic container and combine with the Teriyaki sauce. Marinate overnight or for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator (overnight is better.)

3. Prepare the bacon: - Cut each rasher of bacon in half, trimming and discarding any excess fat.

4. Using a cutting board designed for raw meat, lay out your bacon strips. Place one whole water chestnut 1/3rd of the way down the slice of bacon, topped with a piece of chicken liver. Roll away from yourself, keeping the slippery ingredients inside the bacon roll. Take a toothpick and insert this in such a manner that you can pick it up and place it on a shallow, foil-lined baking sheet which has been sprayed with a non-stick release spray (such as Pam or any olive oil spray.)

5. When all are assembled, sprinkle the dark brown sugar on top of each rumaki and bake in the middle of the oven until the bacon becomes somewhat crispy. Note: Pay attention to the oozing of the teriyaki sauce from the rumaki. When this starts to seep from the chicken livers and looks dark on the baking sheet, it's time to take them out.