Fiendish Fingers (Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Diabo Sauce)

School's out and we're about five days into summer vacation and I must admit I'm so excited! I'm super happy as I think about long warm days in shorts and flip flops, salads, BBQ, fresh fruit, beaches, bike rides and swimming pools. You're probably thinking, I thought Fall was your favorite season so what's up with all the love toward summer? Fall is my favorite season for sure!  I love fall but I also love summer with its warm, kick-back days hanging out with my boys, light delicious salads, fresh fruit and cooking everything outside. My native California soul embraces the warm days ahead knowing that with every day of summer heat and bright, clear skies, the long easy days will ultimately shorten into glorious autumn and give way to my favorite holiday, Halloween. Until then, I have a handful of Halloween dishes to share that can easily be made on a hot summer day on the grill and this is one of those dishes. A delicious and elegant recipe I like to call, Fiendish Fingers! These bacon wrapped shrimp are smothered with a spicy diablo sauce that can be served over rice for a delicious main dish or with diablo sauce for dipping as an elegant appetizer.


The inspiration for this dish came from two sources, originally the idea came a pin my best friend Julie sent me thinking I might be able to Halloween-ify this dish. And as I experimented with the idea of shrimp, I was inspired by the dinner scene in the movie Beetlejuice, when the shrimp cocktail comes to life and grabs the dinner guests' faces. These bacon wrapped shrimp won't grab your face but they will grab your taste buds. Enjoy!

Fiendish Fingers (Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Diablo Sauce)

Serves 2

10 Large Shrimp, peeled and de-veined
5 slices of thin bacon, cut in half lengthwise
1 T cilantro leaves, chopped (garnish)

Diablo Sauce

1 cup onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T canola oil
1 small can V8 Spicy Vegetable Juice
1 t chili powder
1 T garlic chili sauce
salt and pepper (to taste)

Add onions and garlic to canola oil and saute until translucent about 6 minutes. Add additional ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes until thickened. Set aside to cool slightly. Add to a food processor and blend until smooth.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel shrimp leaving only the feathers of the tail in place, removing the flattened tail shell. Pierce shrimp with small skewer at the head end through the tail to ensure the shrimp doesn't curl up when cooking. Dry shrimp with paper towels and then wrap shrimp tightly with thin sliced bacon using the toothpick to anchor the bacon at one end. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. 

Cook 25-30 minutes, turning shrimp over once half way through. Remove from oven and baste shrimp with Diablo sauce and serve with additional sauce for dipping. 
Depending on your preference, Keep the toothpicks in as an easy handle for an appetizer course. Albeit, you will eat the shrimp in reverse. To eat, hold toothpick and gently pull off the tail feathers and eat. Or if you prefer, place a fork against the head of the shrimp, tug and rotate the toothpick until the shrimp slides free. Place shrimp on platter with rice and serve as a main course.

Other Halloween inspired food click here.