Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

This bacon-wrapped shrimp recipe is one that will go quickly at any party, as both the shrimp and the sauce are packed with flavor.

Serves 16 Hands-on 35 minutes Total 45 minutes

Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

-1½ tablespoons bacon drippings
-1/2 large red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
-2 garlic cloves, chopped
-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-½ teaspoon garlic powder
-¼ teaspoon dry mustard
-2 cups cherry cola soft drink
-½ cup red wine vinegar
-1 cup ketchup

Shrimp

Ingredients:

-16 extra-large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed (about 12 ounces)
-1 jalapeño chile, stem removed, seeded, and cut lengthwise into 16 thin strips
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 teaspoon black pepper
-8 bacon slices, halved crosswise

Make the BBQ Sauce: Heat the bacon drippings in a small saucepan over medium-high. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, and dry mustard, and cook, stirring often, until the spices are toasted and fragrant and the onions are a deep maroon color, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cherry cola and vinegar, and cook, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Stir in the ketchup. Bring the sauce to a boil, and cook until reduced to about 2 cups and the mixture coats the back of a spoon, 12 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the Shrimp: Heat a cast-iron skillet or grill pan over medium. Cut a long 1/4-inch-deep slit in the inner curve of each shrimp; insert 1 jalapeño strip. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Wrap each shrimp tightly with 1 bacon piece. Set on a plate, seam sides down.
Place the bacon-wrapped shrimp, seam sides down, in the hot skillet, and cook, turning occasionally, until the bacon is crisp and the shrimp are just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Serve the shrimp with the BBQ sauce.

Make Ahead: The BBQ sauce will hold up to 2 weeks in the fridge. If you’re prepping for a party, the shrimp can be wrapped ahead of time and cooked later.

Excerpted from Valerie’s Home Cooking by Valerie Bertinelli. Copyright © 2017 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Time Inc. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

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