Air Fryer Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon

Air fryer shrimp?  You betcha.  An air fryer is a cook’s best friend and it makes it possible to quickly, easily, perfectly cook bacon-wrapped shrimp.  Whether you serve it as an appetizer or the main protein at your meal, it is a welcome treat.   After years of experimenting with air fryers, I use them for everything I can!

Ingredients:

There are just 4 ingredients — and 2 of them are optional.

• Large, uncooked, peeled, deveined shrimp
• Bacon slices (it is best to use thin so you don’t overcook the shrimp while trying to get the bacon to crisp up)
• Plum sauce (find it in the Asian section of the grocery store or at your favorite Asian market), entirely optional and you’re only going to use about 1/8 tsp. or less per shrimp.  As an alternative, you can use apricot jam.
• Black sesame seeds (again, entirely optional.  They just look cool scattered over the cooked shrimp)
• Toothpicks are handy, but I have also made these without them, so don’t fret if you don’t have any

Tip:  I like to mix chili garlic paste into the plum sauce.  It takes quite a bit to get a real kick, but decide for yourself how kicky/spicy you want it.  When I make it spicy, I signal the spiciness to those who are going to be consuming them by using a garnish of something spicy, either dried arbol chiles, or at least jalapeno slices.

Directions:

Cut your bacon strips lengthwise into two pieces, then cut each long piece into two halves.  Wrap the bacon around the shrimp.  Secure with a toothpick (or don’t).

Preheat the air fryer for 2 minutes at 390 degrees.

Place the bacon-wrapped shrimp into the air fryer.  Put them in a single layer.

Cook for 3 minutes, then turn them over and cook another 2-4 minutes (depending upon the size of your shrimp.

Put your plum sauce into a squeeze bottle, if you have one, and squeeze a little dot onto the middle of the piece of bacon on each shrimp.  If you don’t have a squeeze bottle, simply use a small spoon.  When you put the plum sauce on while the shrimp are hot, it soaks right into the bacon.  Only a tiny amount is needed.  And if you are one of those folks who prefer savory to sweet, skip the plum sauce entirely.  Bacon + shrimp all by themselves is a fabulous duo.

When serving with dinner, I just throw them into a bowl.  For a party or a special treat, they look best plated.