Bacon wrapped water chestnuts are always a very popular appetizer. They are salty, they are crunchy and quite frankly, who doesn’t like bacon? I make these every year for my annual Christmas party. There are major complaints if I don’t make them and usually people are lingering in the kitchen just waiting for me to take them out of the oven. Many mouths have been burned on these tasty morsels including my own! They are irresistible. They are delicious. They are mouth-watering. No one can resist the temptation of a bacon wrapped water chestnut (except maybe a vegetarian but I bet even they want to eat bacon sometimes).
This recipe has very minimal ingredients – I feel that the less ingredients something has, the more delicious it can be. Many recipes for these call for things like ketchup, mayonnaise, hot sauce and many other ingredients. I don’t eat any of those things so I prefer to not include them in my recipes! I also feel that they are completely unnecessary.
Bacon wrapped water chestnuts can be prepared ahead of time which is helpful when planning a party – simply marinate in the morning, wrap them in the afternoon and leave in the fridge on a cookie sheet until you are ready to pop them into the oven. An added bonus: since it involves bacon, husbands are usually happy to help wrap the water chestnuts.
I promise you that this appetizer will go quickly. I often double the recipe as most people will eat 5 of these tasty morsels if not more.
Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
Ingredients
- 1 pkg strip bacon
- 1 large can or 3 small cans of whole water chestnuts
- 1 bottle soy sauce
- 1 tbsp . brown sugar
- Toothpicks
Instructions
-
1. Drain water chestnuts and place in a bowl.
-
2. Pour enough soy sauce over chestnuts to completely submerge them. Add brown sugar to bowl and stir.
-
3. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for minimum 30 minutes. At least 1 hour is preferable. Drain.
-
4. Heat oven to 400°F. Place a wire rack onto a cookie sheet. For easier cleanup I suggest also putting a layer of parchment paper under the wire rack.
-
5. Cut bacon strips into thirds. Wrap each water chestnut in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick pushed all the way through the chestnut.
-
6. Arrange completed chestnuts on wire rack. They can be arranged very close together on the rack but I suggest leaving a small space between each.
-
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes - depending on thickness of bacon, your oven and how tightly packed they are on the cookie sheet, this can take anywhere from 10-40 minutes. Once they are almost done, turn on broiler for just a few minutes but keep an eye on them as broiling will quickly burn the bacon.
-
8. Allow to sit for a few minutes to cool. Serve!
Recipe Notes
The brown sugar helps to caramelize. You can choose to either omit the sugar entirely or you can add more to give them more sweetness.
Andrea can always be found with a new craft in front of her, a form of technology on her right and a coffee on her left. This is how she survives suburbia with her two crazy toddlers in tow.
Leave a Reply