Big Shrimpin’ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and Grit Cakes
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Classic shrimp and grits gets an upscale makeover in this over-the-top, bacon-wrapped presentation. Easy, delicious, and sure to impress your dinner guests!
It all started with some socks that I found at Target a while back. I bought them because they were ridiculous, bright yellow socks with a shrimp pattern all over them.
It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed that one sock said “Big” and the other said “Shrimpin'”.
And I could not stop laughing!
I looooove me a good pun. Especially when you throw in a pop culture reference for good measure. So this was a natural fit for me. Let’s examine some evidence, shall we?
Exhibit A: My go-to trivia team name is The Big Kapowski.
Exhibit B: My family dressed up as the Belcher family from Bob’s Burgers for Halloween back in 2013. I even pun-ified my son’s name to work with a “Burger of the Day” special.
And when I realized that this post would coincide with the final Bacon Month post for 2017, I figured I needed to do some bacon-wrapped shrimp goodness.
So in the spirit of Jay Z‘s Big Pimpin’, I decided that I wanted to to use the biggest shrimp I could find and bling this recipe out, pulling out all the stops and going over the top with the decadence factor.
Truth be told, I wanted to use colossal shrimp, which are so large that there are usually only about 10 of them per pound, but I couldn’t track any down in time to make this dish.
I went with the largest my store had, which was jumbo. Not quite as big pimpin’ as I’d like, but it worked out just fine.
Another thing that I thought would make shrimp and grits more upscale would be to use polenta instead of grits.
Even though they’re very similar, polenta just sounds fancier, and with the pre-made tubes of polenta available at most grocery stores, prep was a snap.
One thing that I needed to think about was how to make sure the bacon was cooked all the way through without overcooking the shrimp. I found an awesome tip for par-cooking bacon over at Inspired Taste, and it worked like a charm!
I tossed the jumbo shrimp in a garlicky-herb butter situation, wrapped them up in that par-cooked bacon, then skewered and baked them till the shrimp was cooked through and the bacon was golden brown.
While they were in the oven, I cut the polenta into rounds and sautéed them to make a gorgeous base for my shrimp.
Of course, this is Bacon Month, and we’re going over-the-top here, so I took the extra bit of bacon that I didn’t need for the shrimp, crisped it up in the pan, and sprinkled it over the polenta cakes.
A generous dose of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese was the perfect topping for this first layer.
You know, cuz it’s Big Shrimpin’, shredded cheese…
The dish turned out so incredibly well. The polenta got nice and crispy and was the perfect textural contrast to the bacon-wrapped shrimp.
It was eyes-rolling-back-into-your-head good.
My 5-year-old couldn’t get enough. He was all about that bacon, and probably ate more than me and my husband combined. Hey, and with that metabolism, he can afford it!
This was so luxurious and would make a great cocktail party appetizer. I think Hova would approve…
Wanna check out what everyone else is whipping up for this installment of Bacon Month?
Cheesy Bacon Hashbrown Casserole
Big Shrimpin’ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and Grit Cakes
Chicken BLT Pasta
Looking for more seafood favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:
- Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl
- Tuna Tostada with Avocado Dressing + Chipotle Sour Cream
- Garlicky Littleneck Clams with Bacon + Wine
- Lemony Almond Crusted Cod with Homemade Mayo-Free Tartar Sauce
- Pan-Seared Salmon with Lemon-Dill Butter + Roasted Purple Sweet Potatoes
- Garlicky Beer + Tarragon Steamed Mussels
- Spicy Shrimp + Napa Cabbage Stir-Fry
- Shrimp with Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Noodles
- Killer Shrimp Cocktail
Big Shrimpin’ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and Grit Cakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop/Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Classic shrimp and grits gets an upscale makeover in this over-the-top, bacon-wrapped presentation. Easy, delicious, and sure to impress your dinner guests!
Ingredients
- 1 package bacon (don’t use thick cut here)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons minced green onions (about 1 medium)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- Small wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 20 minutes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (18-ounce) tube polenta, sliced into 10 rounds
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set an oven-proof baking rack on top. Place bacon in a single layer on top of the sheet and place it in the oven. Set the oven to 425 and let the bacon cook for 12-15 minutes, until the bacon starts to render some of its fat and gets a little bit of color around the edges. Remove from oven to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess fat.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine butter, parsley, green onion and garlic. Take 3 tablespoons of this mixture and place it in a large bowl, then add shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and toss until well coated.
- Cut each piece of par-cooked bacon in half crosswise. Take each half piece, wrap it around a shrimp, secure with a soaked skewer, then place it back on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining shrimp, reserving any extra bacon on the side. Return to the oven and bake for until the shrimp is cooked through and the bacon is golden and crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
- While the shrimp are cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and the remainder of the butter mixture in a large skillet (preferably nonstick) over moderate heat. Sprinkle each slice of polenta with a little paprika, salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Sauté until brown on both sides. Remove to a platter, and immediately top with a few tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Take any extra bacon and slice it, then fry it in the pan until golden and crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess grease, then scatter over the polenta.
- Serve bacon-wrapped shrimp on top of fried polenta rounds with extra Parmesan, green onion, and parsley scattered over top if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 754
- Sugar: 1.3 g
- Sodium: 972.3 mg
- Fat: 63.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 23.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.8 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 38.2 g
- Cholesterol: 288.3 mg
Keywords: shrimp, polenta, bacon, bacon wrapped shrimp
Ashley
Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.
2 Comments
Linda Warren
My husband would die for this meal! Now I know I’m going to be making it real soon especially if he gets a look at this post. Love the browned polenta in lieu of the grits. My favorite thing to fix as a side.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks so much, Linda! It’s really a fun dish – my family absolutely loved it!