Grilled Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Tacos

Try these easy Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Tacos instead of takeout tacos! They’re a mouthwatering meal you can make in under 15 minutes!

You Can Put Just about Anything on a Taco!

You know it’s true, right? Just about anything works on a taco, from traditional ground beef or chicken to carnitas, fish, or just veggies! And the seasonings can range from hot and spicy to cool and creamy. They’re all fantastic!

The best thing about this Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Taco recipe is how incredibly fresh and easy it is to make! It takes just 5 minutes to prep and 5 minutes to grill, and with the corn tortillas, these shrimp tacos are naturally gluten-free!

Other Recipes to Serve with Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Tacos

• Red Cabbage Slaw is tangy and gorgeous and a GREAT addition to these tacos if you want more than just cabbage and avocado. 
• Mexican Mango Rice Salad makes a super side dish for shrimp tacos!

Ingredients

Protein: This recipe uses regular sliced bacon and large shrimp—peeled and deveined is totally up to you (you can buy it already done or easily do this yourself!). The larger size makes it easier to wrap the bacon around.

Seasoning: The savory seasoning for these seafood tacos is cumin, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper – simple and so good!

Sauce: To make the “salsa” for this recipe, combine cocktail sauce and tartar sauce.

Shells: Traditional tacos always call for corn tortillas. The subtle flavor adds so much depth to these tacos!

Toppings: A little shredded cabbage and avocado slices make these so fresh and delicious!

How to Make Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Tacos

STEP ONE: Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to help prevent them from burning on the grill. Peel and devein the shrimp (I like to remove the tails, too), then add them to a bowl and sprinkle with the cumin, paprika, and garlic powder. Toss everything together until the shrimp is evenly coated.

STEP TWO: Wrap each shrimp with a 2-inch piece of uncooked (or partially cooked) bacon. Slide three shrimp onto each skewer, spacing them evenly for the best grilling result.

STEP THREE: Place the skewers on the grill over medium heat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from grill and set aside.

STEP FOUR: Mix the cocktail and tartar sauces to make the taco sauce. Warm the corn tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-high heat on the stove.

STEP FIVE: Place a warm tortilla on a plate. Top with shredded cabbage and sliced avocados. Add four shrimp, a drizzle of the taco sauce, and some chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Tips for Success

• Bacon takes longer to cook than shrimp, so don’t use thick-cut bacon; the result will be rubbery, overcooked shrimp or undercooked bacon.
• You CAN precook your bacon in the oven for about 5 minutes at 420 F (don’t let it get crispy!) before you wrap it around the raw shrimp to ensure more even grilling and crispier bacon. 
• The shrimp seasoning doesn’t need salt- the salt in the bacon adds flavor to the finished product!
• Corn tortillas are the traditional way to go (it also keeps the tacos gluten-free), but flour tortillas are also yummy!

What’s the Best Way to Thaw Shrimp?

The best way to thaw shrimp is also the easiest: Simply put the bag of frozen shrimp in the fridge the day before you plan to use it. The shrimp are fully thawed when they are pliable and translucent. 

But most of us need to know how to quickly thaw shrimp, right? To do this in about 20 minutes without wasting water, fill a large bowl with cold water. Put the frozen shrimp in a plastic baggie and seal the baggie in the water. Place a heavier item on top to submerge the bag and hold it under the water. Flip the bag over after 10 minutes. Once thawed, pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel. 

What’s the Easiest Way to Devein Shrimp?

You can always buy already deveined shrimp, but it’s easy to do yourself. Just make a small slit along the length of the back of the shrimp where the dark line is.  Next, use a sharp knife and simply pull it out with the tip of the knife. By removing this “vein” (really the shrimp’s digestive tract), you remove the sandy, gritty texture that’s sometimes present in vein-in shrimp. 

Other Savory Bacon-Wrapped Recipes

• Bacon-Wrapped Chicken
• Sweet Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tots
• Bacon-Wrapped Figs
• Bacon-Wrapped Cheese Hot Dogs
• Ultimate Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
• Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp & Pineapple Kabobs

*This post was originally posted on 04/03/2015.