Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Try something different, instead of shrimp, wrap dates with bacon, something I learned in Prague!

Ok, go get some shrimp (not those tiny little ones you put in cocktail sauce, but the bigger ones, the fresher, the better), some bacon, and some toothpicks.  For fun, get some pineapple chunks and some sliced water chestnut however not required. Of course you will need some lemon pepper and stuff for the marinade.   If the shrimp was flash frozen, place in a large bowel of cold water to slowly thaw out and cover to keep household pets like cats out of it!

While thawing, make the marinade unless you already got one you like!  To make the marinade which is basically a teriyaki type or similar combine about a 1/2 cup of Orange Juice, dash of lemon juice, couple dashes of soy (adds salt and color), some sugar (brown is nice although white will work), dash of tobacco or habanaro to taste, some lemon pepper or better yet, white pepper and lemon grass! Add some hosin sauce if you got it to send this one over the top flavorwise!

Combine all of the ingredients and let stand and then poor into a plastic dish or zip-lock type bag with the thawed out shrimp. Seal the bag tight and place in fridge for several hours or better yet overnight!  Another interesting marinade is to use some ginger beer and curry! After marinating, take your bacon and cut the strips into about 1/3s and assemble your bacon, shrimp, toothpicks, pineapple, and water chestnuts.  A quick note is to soak the toothpicks for about 30 minutes in water to keep them from burning!  Skewer the shrimp on to a toothpick with a piece of pineapple on one end, shrimp, then wrap with bacon, and if desired, end with a piece of water chestnut.

Cover until ready to place on a hot grill.  Once on the grill, sprinkle again with some Lemon pepper and before turning, add just a dash of kosher salt (like a couple of grains per shrimp but whos measuring!) to help sear and finish!

When done, enjoy as is or with your favorite dipping sauce!

The beautiful thing about this little ditty is that you can get creative with the marinade and what you skewer or put on the toothpick!

Shopping List

Some shrimp, bacon, toothpicks, lemon pepper, pineapple, orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, spices, hosin sauce, and a zip lock bag.