Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

This Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Shrimp dish combines plump, juicy shrimp with savory bacon and a smoky, slightly spicy barbecue sauce. It’s succulent and satisfying and a great dinner or snack option. This surf-and-turf dish is a definite crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients in the Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue sauce is one of our favorite sauces/condiments. We love the balance of sweet, tangy, and smoky. There are many different kinds of barbecue sauce, like our gold barbecue sauce that we made for our BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Dill Pickle Slaw.

For this dish, we use a simple, homemade chipotle barbecue sauce, which adds a smoky heat to the mild shrimp and savory bacon. It’s well worth the few minutes it takes to make it. For the sauce, you’ll need:

• Butter – the butter adds just a touch of richness in this recipe and helps bring the other ingredients together.
• Ketchup – this barbecue sauce is on the sweeter and smokier side than gold barbecue sauce, and the ketchup helps achieve the sweeter flavor profile.
• Yellow mustard – while this isn’t a gold barbecue sauce, yellow mustard is needed here to add balance and tang.
• Brown sugar – we love the molasses notes that brown sugar brings to this sauce.
• Chipotle peppers in adobo – for smoky heat, we use chipotle peppers in adobo in this recipe. If you like your sauces less spicy, you can use less peppers than the recipe states.
• Apple cider vinegar – this helps brighten up the sauce and thin it out just slightly.
• Salt and pepper – be sure to season your barbecue sauce to your liking.

Ingredients in the Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

In addition to the barbecue sauce, there are other ingredients in the barbecue bacon wrapped shrimp. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Large shrimp – we like to use large shrimp that have had their shells removed and have been deveined, but that still have their tails on. The tails also help with eating the shrimp because they act as holders. 
• Bacon – use any bacon you like here, including non-pork varieties if that’s what you want. The key is to cut the slices in half and partially cook them before wrapping them around the shrimp.
• Chives – we love topping the cooked shrimp with chives for just a little color and added brightness.
• Toothpicks – don’t worry, you don’t eat these. They’re needed to help secure the bacon to the shrimp while they bake. 

How to Make the Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

To make the barbecue bacon wrapped shrimp, start by preheating your oven to 400°F. For easier cleanup, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Now, make the chipotle barbecue sauce by melting butter in a saucepan, then add the other sauce ingredients and cook the sauce for about 5 minutes. Put ½ cup of the sauce into a bowl and set the rest aside for later (the recipe makes ¾ cup sauce). 

Partially cook the bacon for 3 to 5 minutes in a pan set over medium heat. Set the partially cooked bacon aside to cool (don’t be tempted to try it; it’s not fully cooked yet). Partially cooking the bacon ensures that it’ll get fully cooked and slightly crispy later, without making you overcook the shrimp in the oven.

Wrap each shrimp with a piece of bacon and secure the ends of the bacon to the shrimp with a toothpick. Using a brush, distribute ½ cup of the barbecue sauce onto all of the shrimp. 

Bake the shrimp on the prepared baking sheet for 10 minutes, then remove the shrimp from the oven and flip each shrimp over. Brush with the remaining ¼ cup of barbecue sauce and broil the shrimp on high for 1 to 2 minutes, just enough to caramelize the sauce without overcooking the shrimp. Place the shrimp on a rack to cool before plating and garnishing them with chives.

Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

5 from 1 vote

This Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Shrimp dish combines plump, juicy shrimp with savory bacon and a smoky, slightly spicy barbecue sauce.

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Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:20 minutes mins

Total Time:35 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bacon, Shrimp

Servings: 6

Equipment

• Toothpicks to help secure the bacon to the shrimp

Ingredients

Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

• 3 tbsp butter
• ½ cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo minced
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Salt to taste
• Cracked black pepper to taste

Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

• 1 pound large shrimp shelled, deveined, tails on (about 25-28 shrimp)
• 14 slices bacon cut in half
• Chives minced, for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. For easier cleanup, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the barbecue sauce ingredients and cook in a saucepan for about 5 minutes. Put ½ cup of the sauce into a bowl and set the rest aside for later (recipe makes ¾ cup sauce).
  3 tbsp butter, ½ cup ketchup, 2 tbsp yellow mustard, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, Salt, Cracked black pepper
• Partially cook the bacon for 3-5 minutes in a pan over medium heat. Set aside to cool. Note: partially cooking the bacon ensures that it’ll get fully cooked and slightly crispy later, without making you overcook the shrimp in the oven.
  14 slices bacon
• Wrap each shrimp with a piece of bacon and secure the ends of the bacon to the shrimp with a toothpick.
  1 pound large shrimp
• Using a brush, distribute ½ cup of the barbecue sauce onto all of the shrimp.
• Bake shrimp for 10 minutes.
• Remove shrimp from the oven and flip each shrimp over. Brush with the remaining barbecue sauce and broil the shrimp on high for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Place the shrimp on a rack to cool before plating and garnishing with chives.
  Chives