Chipotle Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

It's grilling season.  Tis the time to be outdoors and enjoying all the wonderful sights and sounds of nature.  With this recipe you can definitely improve that experience with the wonderful smell of shrimp and bacon on the grill. 

You can prepare this recipe two different ways.  The first is to use long bamboo skewers with multiple bacon-wrapped shrimp on each one.  If you are going to have only a few people over and they will eat several, this would be the best way to go.  To serve as an appetizer for larger crowds, I would use individual toothpicks to prepare each one. 

If you want to make this dish and don't have a grill, it's still very easy. You can line them up on a baking pan and put them in the oven on broil.  Watch them closely, though, because the shrimp cook very quickly.

Chipotle Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

20 strips bacon (about 12 oz)

30 medium-large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 lb.)

½ cup barbecue sauce

¼ cup canola oil

3 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

3 Tbs. chopped chipotles in adobo sauce

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Freshly ground pepper

Soak 5 to 8 bamboo skewers (or toothpicks) in water for about 20 minutes to keep them from burning on the grill or under the broiler.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet until halfway done, about 4 minutes. Drain and cool on paper towels. Wrap a piece of bacon around the middle of each shrimp; skewer with bamboo through the point where the bacon ends meet to keep it from unraveling (for individual bites, use toothpicks). Thread 3 to 5 shrimp on each bamboo skewer. use kitchen scissors to cut bacon to appropriate length

Puree the barbecue sauce, oil, lemon juice, mustard, chipotles, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper in a blender. Set aside half of the sauce for dipping.

Preheat a grill, grill pan or broiler. Grill or broil shrimp (on a foil-lined baking sheet, if broiling) for 5 minutes, basting with the sauce once they begin to turn pink. Flip, baste again and grill or broil until just cooked through, about 4 more minutes.

Serve with extra sauce.

I've made these several times and never get tired of them.  They're a terrific addition to any party.  Enjoy!!

See a full index of The Orange Skillet Recipes here.