Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Whiskey Peach Chutney

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Whiskey Peach Chutney might just be the perfect shrimp appetizer! Sweet, salty and smokey with the juiciest shrimp ever using my easy tips!

Prep Time40

Cook Time12

Total Time52

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 507kcal

Author: Nancy Buchanan

Ingredients

For the Shrimp Brine:

4 cups water
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup salt
2 cups ice cubes

For the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp 15 - 25 count
1 pound thin sliced bacon

Whiskey Peach Chutney

¾ cup sweet onion finely chopped
2 cups peeled and diced peaches about 2 large peaches
¼ cup bourbon whiskey I used Jack Daniels
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

For the Shrimp Brine:

Combine the water, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add the shrimp and the ice cubes. Brine for 15 to 30 minutes maximum. Remove shrimp from the brine and pat dry.

For the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp:

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Soak toothpicks (one for each shrimp) in water and set aside. Slice each bacon strip in half so that you have 1 piece of bacon for each shrimp.
In a large saute pan, cook the bacon over medium high heat for 3 - 4 minutes until the bacon has rendered some of its fat and the bacon is starting to brown at the edges but is still pliable.
Remove the bacon from the saute pan and drain on a paper towel.
To wrap the bacon strip around the shrimp: starting near the tail, wrap the bacon around the shrimp and secure with one of the soaked toothpicks.
Place the shrimp on a baking rack set over a foil lined sheet pan. Roast for 10 - 12 minutes or until the shrimp are opaque and the bacon has crisped. Remove from the oven and serve with the Whiskey Peach Chutney.

To Make the Whiskey Peach Chutney:

Pour off all but 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat. Over medium high heat, add the onions and saute until just becoming translucent.
Add the peaches and cook for another 3 - 5 minutes until the peaches start breaking down.
Add the whiskey, stir and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes.
Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, cayenne and salt. Stir. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes until the mixture is thick and almost jam like. Cool.
If not using right away, refrigerate in a covered container. Chutney will keep for 3 to 5 days.

Notes

NOTES:

For the shrimp: I used a 25 count (that's 25 shrimp per pound) size for this recipe and found that the shrimp weren't overcooked by the time the bacon was cooked.
Bacon: look for thinner versus thicker strips of bacon. Thick cut or artisanal bacon is too thick - the shrimp will be overcooked before the bacon is done.
this Whiskey Peach Chutney is a great way to use up overly ripe peaches. If your peaches are super sweet, I would start with half the maple syrup and sugar called for in the recipe. If the chutney needs to be sweeter, you can always add a bit more brown sugar and/or maple syrup.
If you don't have maple syrup, you could use all brown sugar. I like the maple syrup for both the flavor and for the silky texture it gives to the chutney.
I used Jack Daniels Bourbon Whiskey in this but any decent quality bourbon would work - Elijah Craig and Woodford Reserve would both be great options.
You can assemble the bacon wrapped shrimp several hours before you are going to cook them. The whiskey peach chutney can be made 2 or 3 days ahead of time. Let the chutney come to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition