Bacon wrapped shrimp marinated in a simple olive oil, lemon and cajun spice dressing.  These delicious shrimp wraps are an easy and tasty appetizer or serve over a fresh bed of lettuce for a complete meal!

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Even as a food blogger I can get in a menu rut.  There are days when nothing sounds good to me or I just don’t want to cook. During those times, I call it a wine and cheese, quesadilla or breakfast night.  Easy.

But what do you do when you have a pound of shrimp to be cooked?  Pair it with bacon for an appetizer night! Also, easy!

This duo is rich, satisfying, and delicious with a glass of Pinot Grigio!

What size shrimp to buy – Count Vs. Size

Have you ever wondered what the numbers next to the shrimp in the fish case represented?  I have always glossed over those and paid more attention to the name they gave the shrimp like jumbo or large.  Both sound like pretty big shrimp, right?

There is actually more behind the names, and for meal prepping it’s important to pay attention to the number instead of the name.  Each version comes with a number like 51/60, which represents how many shrimp you can expect to buy in one pound.

For this recipe I needed a hearty shrimp to be able to wrap a piece of bacon around it, so I opted for 21-25 or extra-large size, which gave me about 25 shrimps.  For a California Shrimp Louie Salad, a pound of the small, 51-60 shrimps would be best.

Easy shrimp marinade

It would be fine to wrap the shrimp in a piece of bacon and call it a day, because BACON. But this easy marinade takes minutes to whip up and it adds even more flavor!

Clean the shrimp and then whisk together the olive oil, chopped garlic, lemon juice and Old Bay Seasoning.  The shrimp takes on the flavor pretty quickly.

Bacon shrimp tip!

Shrimp takes minutes to cook, so there is a little trick that will keep the shrimp from dying out.  First, the marinade helps, but if you also pre-cook the bacon slightly before wrapping it around the shrimp, then you won’t end up with tough shrimp!

If you want to add a dipping sauce, then you’ll want to make this shrimp cocktail sauce recipe from Bowl Me Over!

Yield: 25

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Recipe

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Bacon shrimp makes a delicious appetizer or when you want a hearty meal add these to a bed of green salad.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp (count 21-25)
• 1 pound bacon 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning 
• 1 lemon, juiced

Instructions

Peel and devein shrimp. 

In a large bowl whisk together olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and Old Bay Seasoning.  Place clean shrimp in the marinade and gently mix to coat each shrimp. 

Cut bacon in half and pre-cook in a skillet pan just until the fat renders (about 2-3 minutes), and is still pliable. 

Wrap around a each shrimp and secure with a toothpick or skewer. Place on a baking sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until bacon is cooked to your preference. 

Notes

Use thin cut bacon for this appetizer.