This wonderful Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon Recipe comes courtesy of Sarah Penrod a.k.a. The Urban Cowgirl. The recipe is called the Galveston Shrimp Kisses which is made up of fresh gulf shrimp stuffed with a delicious cream cheese and pepper jack cheese mix, all wrapped up in bacon.
They are fried up until crispy and then served with a caramelized pineapple sauce. The shrimp is stuffed with a couple of difference kind of cheeses. You will dip these Shrimp Kisses in to the caramelized pineapple sauce which is sweet and a little bit spicy.
We start off by making the filling. You begin by putting of block of cream cheese that is at room temperature into a large bowl. Second you grate about a cup of sharp cheddar and adding it to the bowl as well. Next up is a cup of grated Monterey Jack cheese which also goes straight into the bowl.
With the cheeses in the bowl take two green onions and slice both the white and green parts thinly, only chopping of the root ends and add to the bowl. Using a form start mashing everything down. This is a lot easier if the cream cheese is already soft. When it is all mixed together and you will be able to stuff it into the shrimp then it is ready. The first component of the Shrimp Wrapped In Bacon Recipe is now done!
Set the cheese stuffing you just made aside and then start with the shrimp. You really don’t want to skimp on the size as using a large shrimp cuts down on the amount of labor to be done. A difference here is that in stead of slicing the shrimp in the back and stuffing, Sarah rather cuts it on the belly. On the back the filling just tends to come out. Make sure the shrimp is intact and then cut into the belly of each shrimp. Basically you are half butterflying the shrimp.
Put the shrimp aside to start on the next component which is a good quality center cut bacon. You do not have to use the whole bacon. Sarah likes to cut some bits off the side that she keeps as you can still cook it later. You will now start an assembly line.
Place a piece of bacon on your work surface and grab the first shrimp. Place the shrimp next to bacon and fill it with the cheese filling you made first. Take a bit of the filling and roll it into a ball. Then once you put it inside the shrimp you just mash it out so that it fits inside the cavity created.
Place the filled shrimp on the end of the bacon and then start to roll it up. Grabbing two toothpicks pin the bacon to the shrimp on both sides. Repeat for all of the shrimp you prepared until you have a plate full, which you will now stick into the freezer for 30 minutes just to firm it up again. While it is chilling move on to the pineapple sauce.
You start by getting pineapple pieces and placing them on foil lined baking tray or cookie sheet. You don’t have to use fresh pineapple, you can just get cut ones from the store. Put them in an oven that has been pre-heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep them in the oven for 20 minutes until they are brown and caramelized.
Take the pineapple out of the oven and pop them into a blender. Add a pinch of salt as well as a quarter cup of half and half cream and start blending. Lastly add some chipotle chili pepper powder to the mix and give it another blend. This step is completely optional.
Finally it is now time to fry those Shrimp Kisses now that they had time to chill in the freezer. Bring a pot of oil to 380 degrees which is pretty hot, but you want them to fry hot and fast to crisp up the bacon but not give the cheese time to get out. Drop one carefully into the pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Pull them out and let them drain.
Pull the toothpicks out to serve them on a plate with the sauce in a little bowl on the side.
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