Easiest Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

These bacon-wrapped shrimp start with frozen shrimp. The frozen shrimp take a little bit longer to cook, allowing the bacon time to crisp up. You get crispy bacon and juicy shrimp!

Bacon-wrapped shrimp are one of my all-time favorite appetizers. The shrimp makes them special. The bacon makes them insanely delicious. And, the ease with which they can be made makes them a total winner.

These bacon-wrapped shrimp are the easiest ever because they use frozen shrimp, and you don’t even have to defrost them first. In fact, it’s best if you don’t defrost them first. The reason is that the bacon tends to need more time to get crisp than the shrimp need to cook. By using frozen shrimp, the shrimp take that little bit longer to get cooked fully through, giving the bacon more time to crisp up. Pretty smart, right?

What Kind Of Shrimp To Use

For this recipe, you’re going to use frozen shrimp, as mentioned. I go with a large-sized shrimp. That’s the ones that are 31-35 shrimp per pound. You’ll want to choose the ones that are already peeled and deveined but still have the tail on. That’s because the tail makes the perfect handle for this finger-food.

What Kind of Bacon To Use

I like to use a bacon that is of medium thickness for this dish. If it’s too thin, it will tear when you’re trying to wrap them, and/or it will crisp too quickly. If it’s too thick, it won’t crisp quickly enough and will be a bit rubbery near the shrimp. That’s not ideal. So just choose a bacon that doesn’t say “extra thick” on the package, and have a look to make sure that the slices don’t seem to thin.

While I do often get center-cut bacon for breakfast, I just get the regular length strips for this recipe. The reason is that I cut the strips in half and use one half of a strip per shrimp. The full length strips are exactly the right length for cutting in half to use.

What To Serve With Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

I like to serve these little bites with a simple dipping sauce. In fact, my favorite is so simple that it comes from a bottle: Sweet Chili Sauce! Anything with a bit of sweetness and a bit of tang will work though.

and actually, I think you’ll love this recipe so much that you’ll start making it as a dinner entree as well. The shrimp are amazing on a salad or alongside rice. Perfect for a special date night or when you want something a little more fun on a weeknight.

Enjoy!

Christine xo

Easiest Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Category: Appetizers
Method: Broiling
Cuisine: American

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Description

These bacon-wrapped shrimp start with frozen shrimp. The frozen shrimp take a little bit longer to cook, allowing the bacon time to crisp up. You get crispy bacon and juicy shrimp!

Ingredients

Cooking spray or oil
12 slices of bacon
24 large frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, with tail
Sweet chili sauce (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the broiler and arrange the rack in the oven to be about 6 inches away from the heat elements.
Spray a broiling pan or baking sheet that can withstand high heat with cooking spray or oil it lightly with cooking oil.
Cut a slice of bacon in half such that it is half as long as it was when it started. Repeat with remaining bacon slices.
Take the shrimp out of the freezer.
Grab a hold of a still-frozen shrimp. Wind a halved bacon slice around it, leaving the tail uncovered.
Place the shrimp on the prepared pan.
Repeat by wrapping each shrimp in a bacon half, arranging them in a single layer on the prepared pan.
Put pan of bacon-wrapped shrimp on the rack under the broiler. Cook for 4 minutes. Flip them over.
Continue to cook for 1-2 minutes at a time, flipping as needed so that the bacon crisps but doesn’t burn.
Remove shrimp from oven and serve immediately with sweet chili sauce, if using.