Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

Looking for a crowd pleasing-appetizer? Make bacon-wrapped shrimp! Kinda ridiculously good.
I blame the bacon.
Seriously, this one is really easy and crazy good. Bacon and shrimp make a very happy couple. For this recipe we are coating the shrimp with some lime and chili powder, and then wrapping them in slices of bacon, and either oven baking or putting on the grill.
Here are a couple of tips that can help make these even better.

First, especially when grilling shrimp, we highly recommend brining them first for 30 minutes in a sugar, salt, water solution. The brine helps the shrimp hold onto its moisture on the high heat of the grill. The shrimp remain plump and juicy.
Second, make sure to pre-cook the bacon a bit before wrapping them around the shrimp. (We microwave the strips.) Otherwise no amount of brining will keep the shrimp from drying out in the time it takes for the bacon to be cooked.

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yield: Makes 12 pieces

Figure 1 strip of bacon for every 2 shrimp.
Shrimp cook so quickly that to help keep them from drying out whether grilling or oven roasting, we recommend brining them first.
Just whisk together 1/4 cup of kosher salt, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 4 cups of water until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add the ice and the shrimp, and let sit for 30 minutes (no longer).

Ingredients

• 1 pound (12-20 count), raw, peeled and deveined shrimp (tail on)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Zest from 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder or chili powder (less or more to taste)
• 6-10 strips thin bacon, cut in half (half as many pieces of bacon as there are shrimp)
• Skewers (for grilling) or toothpicks (for oven)

Optional brine:

• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup ice

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