Chicken and bacon pie on the BBQ

Published 19 October 2026 · Last updated 19 October 2026 · Tested by Ben Austen

A chicken and bacon pie in a white enamel dish, the puff pastry lid risen and golden, with filling bubbling out at one edge
Off the barbecue.
  • Prep15 min
  • Cook45 min
  • Serves6
  • DifficultyEasy
  • TemperatureAbout 200°C (392°F) indirect for the pie, half-moon deflector in.

I’d never done a pie on a barbecue before, and it was much easier than I thought it would be. I had a gammon on the Monolith TWO 55 that Que Fresco, the UK distributor, has kindly sent me to test, so once that came off I grilled some boneless chicken thighs and smoked bacon on it, chopped them up and stirred them into a white sauce with a bit of veg. Shop-bought puff pastry went on top, and the chicken and bacon pie baked on the side with the half-moon deflector in, at about 200°C (392°F), for around half an hour. I wouldn’t light a barbecue just for this, but if you’ve already got one going, it’s a fun thing to do. It’s not a showstopper, but it is a bit show-off.

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Ingredients

  • 500g boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 pack of smoked bacon rashers (about 12)
  • Onion, carrot and celery, chopped
  • Garlic
  • 40g butter
  • 40g flour
  • 300–400ml milk, plus a splash for the top
  • 1 stock pot
  • 1 sheet of shop-bought puff pastry
Chicken, bacon, carrot, celery and onion in a white sauce in an enamel dish, before the pastry goes on

Equipment

  • A barbecue that can grill direct and then hold about 200°C (392°F) indirect with the lid down. I used a Monolith TWO 55, with one of its two half-moon deflectors in for the pie. Any kamado, or a kettle set up with the coals to one side, should do the same job.
  • A dish that can go on the barbecue. Mine was an enamel one.
  • A pan for the filling. I used a wok on the hob.

Method

  1. Soften the onion, carrot, celery and garlic
  2. Make a white sauce in the same pan
  3. Grill the chicken thighs and bacon direct, with the deflector out
  4. Chop the chicken and bacon and stir them into the sauce
  5. Lay the pastry over the top and brush it with milk
  6. Put the half-moon deflector in, with the grid on the middle height, and bake the pie on that side at about 200°C (392°F)
  7. Take it off when the pastry has risen and gone golden
The pie, pastry still pale, on one side of the Monolith's grid with the lid open and coals glowing on the open side

Key takeaways

  • Cook the filling first. The chicken, bacon and sauce were all cooked before the pie went on, so the barbecue only had to cook the pastry.
  • Keep the grid up. I left it on the middle height rather than dropping it, because I wanted the pastry higher up to crisp.
  • Take the bacon off before the chicken. On direct heat it got pretty crispy, so it came off a bit earlier. The thighs took about 15 minutes to cook through.
  • Next time I’d make the base in a skillet on the barbecue. I’d use the skillet as a drip tray under an earlier cook, then soften the onions in it, to get more barbecue flavour into the filling.

How I made a chicken and bacon pie on the barbecue

The Monolith comes with two half-moon deflectors and a grid that’s split in half, so you can set one side up indirect and leave the other open to the coals. I’d had both deflectors in for the gammon. Once that came off, I took them out and put the chicken thighs and bacon straight on the grid over the coals.

Boneless chicken thighs and bacon rashers on the Monolith's grid, straight over the coals with the lid open
Thighs and bacon straight over the coals.

I’d already made the sauce on the hob while the gammon was still going. I softened the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a wok, then made a white sauce in the same pan with the butter, flour, milk and a stock pot. When the chicken and bacon were done, I chopped them up, stirred them in and tipped it all into an enamel dish.

One sheet of shop-bought puff pastry went over the top, and I brushed it with milk so it would brown up a bit. Then I put one of the half-moon deflectors back in and set the pie on that side. When it came off, the pastry had risen and gone golden, and some of the filling had bubbled out at the side.

A sheet of puff pastry draped over the pie dish and brushed with milk
Pastry on and brushed with milk.
The pie on the Monolith's grid, the pastry risen and golden
Risen and golden on the Monolith.

What to serve it with

I had it with some boiled veg.

What I learned

Part of my dish sat over the open side of the Monolith, and I thought that edge would overcook. My plan was to turn it every eight minutes. After the first turn it was absolutely fine, so I didn’t bother turning it again.

Variations

I’ve only made this BBQ chicken pie on the Monolith. A kettle set up with the coals to one side should do the same job, but I haven’t tried it. Doing it in the oven is much easier.

Related

FAQ

What sauce is in chicken and bacon pie?

Mine was a white sauce: 40g butter, 40g flour, 300–400ml milk and a stock pot, made in the same pan as the veg.

What are the ingredients for a chicken and bacon pie?

I used 500g of boneless chicken thighs, a pack of smoked bacon, onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a white sauce, and one sheet of shop-bought puff pastry on top.

Do you need to cook bacon before putting it in a pie?

I cooked mine first. It went straight on the grid over the coals with the chicken, and I took it off once it was pretty crispy, then chopped it up.

Disclosure and provenance

Que Fresco, the UK Monolith distributor, has sent me a Monolith TWO 55 to test. None of the links here are affiliate links, so nothing here earns a commission.

Sourced from the 17 October 2026 cook log — a chicken and bacon pie baked on a Monolith TWO 55, straight after a gammon.