Super Bowl Recipe: Grilled, Bacon-Wrapped BBQ shrimp
While it is not summer time, it is football playoff season with the Super Bowl coming up, so grilling is probably on some people’s minds when having people over to watch the games. My grilled, bacon-wrapped BBQ shrimp have been a hit every time I have done them.
Items you will need:
- Fresh, easy-peel raw shrimp – use large/jumbo shrimp and an amount of your choice. I usuall get two pounds of 16-20 count shrimp.
- Bacon – your choice. I use hardwood smoked thick or regular sliced. 1 pound of bacon should be good for over 20 shrimp, so I can use up to two pounds.
- Fresh Jalapeno peppers – I have tried other types of pepper and they have not been as good when used in this recipe.
- Toothpicks
- BBQ sauce – Your choice. A Stevia extract sauce would make this recipe keto friendly, paleo friendly or low carb. Or skip the sauce and use a flavored mayonnaise or aioli to dip them in once done grilling.
- Cutting board
- Large knife
- Small knife
Putting it together:
Cut off the stem of the jalapeno peppers and cut jalapeno peppers in half length-wise from stem to end and take out seed pocket and seeds and take out remaining hard to get seeds by running under water. Cut jalapeno peppers length-wise into slivers. You should have around ten slivers per jalapeno.
Take slab(s) of bacon and cut entire slab in half with large knife. You can also take the time to trim the end pieces of the bacon all at once if there is extra fat on the end.
Cook half-slices of bacon in frying pan until halfway done. Do not cook all the way, cook them enough so that they are starting to cook a little and starting to brown slightly and a little of the fat has cooked away. Many restaurants and others do not cook the bacon halfway and the result is non-crispy bacon around the shrimp (or other meat such as scallops) when done that while probably cooked and healthy to eat, has the appearance sometimes of non-cooked bacon.
Peel shrimp and cut off tails.
Take jalapeno sliver and place length-wise on the back of the shrimp where the vein was. Wrap half slice of bacon around shrimp and hold all of it together with a toothpick. Repeat for all shrimp.
Grilling them:
Place shrimp on a grill that is at a medium-high temperature. I prefer grilling with charcoal as I feel this makes meats taste better. Cook until shrimp are done, approximately fifteen minutes. Bacon will be cooked as well. Brush or spoon a small amount of BBQ sauce across top of each shrimp for last one to two minutes and you are done. In times past, these have been just as good cold, so preparing them before the game or party, then eating them chilled is not a bad idea.
