Smoky, Sweet, and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

These Smoky, Sweet, and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp are absolutely perfect for your Super Bowl festivities.  Great for parties big and small!  Super Bowl is a huge deal in my house!  We have a big party every year (Except this year of course…with Covid restrictions…no party 🙁 ).  Several years ago my bestie Sharon, brought a big platter of these babies to my Super Bowl party and they were the first thing to go off the buffet.  I’ve made them many, many times since then…making few tweaks along the way, but the basics are the same.  They are sooooo delicious and a cinch to make.  I mean bacon and shrimp… how can you go wrong!

You really need to make sure you get the right shrimp for this dish.  Get the biggest shrimp you can find… peeled, deveined, tail on. This time I got Jumbo or 21-25’s.   Meaning you get 21-25 shrimp per pound.  Sometimes I can score the 16-20’s, usually called Colossal!  Either will work fine!

Pre-heat oven to 400°.  Or, if you have a convection oven set it on 375° with the convection on.  Thaw shrimp by placing in a strainer and running cool water over them.  You really don’t want to thaw your shrimp until you are ready to use them.  And unless you live somewhere near the ocean…never buy already thawed shrimp.  The store just thawed frozen shrimp and put it in the case.  You are better off doing it yourself and having the freshest possible shrimp.

Mix together the Smoky, Spicy, and Sweet Seasoning Mix: Smoked Paprika, Brown Sugar, Cayenne, Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder and set aside.  You will use this several times during the recipe prep.

Combine the BBQ sauce, your favorite hot sauce, to taste, and 1 teaspoon of the seasoning blend.  I like Sriracha but Frank’s Red hot is awesome in this recipe too!

Line a sheet pan with foil and place a baking rack on top. A broiler pan would also work here. When the shrimp are thawed, place paper towels over the baking rack and lay the shrimp on top.  Dab with more more paper towels to dry the shrimp.  The drier the shrimp, the easier they will be to wrap with the bacon.

Arrange the shrimp on the baking rack and sprinkle with the seasoning blend.

Cut the bacon in half lengthwise. This will make it much easier to wrap the shrimp.

Place the bacon on several layers of paper towels and cover with a few additional layers.

Place on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until bacon is pliable and starting to release fat/juice.  Let the bacon cool for 3-5 minutes.

Wrap cooled bacon around the shrimp (securing the bacon with a toothpick if desired), and place on the baking rack.  Sprinkle the wrapped shrimp with the seasoning blend.

Bake the shrimp for 10 minutes. Then remove from the oven and lightly brush with the BBQ sauce.  OOOHHHH they are looking good now!

Bake for an additional 5 minutes.  If you like the bacon really crispy, turn your broiler on for just a minute at the end.  Make sure you keep and eye on it….don’t walk away!  The BBQ sauce will burn quickly, so watch carefully.

Remove the sheet pan from the oven and turn the shrimp over and brush the second side with BBQ sauce.  Bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Again, turn the broiler on for a minute for extra crisp bacon, watching carefully!  Oh boy, I can hardly wait!!

Serve with extra BBQ sauce for dipping, if desired.  Oh my, these are so delightful!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!!  Enjoy the Super Bowl…and the great commercials as well!

There you have it!  Smoky, Sweet, and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp.  Perfect for Super Bowl Snackin’!