Today I'm sharing a recipe that has been in my family for as long as I can remember. We've always referred to them as "water chestnut hors d'oeuvres" or simply, water chestnuts (e.g... "who's making the water chestnuts this year?"), but I'll refer to them bacon-wrapped water chestnuts for clarification purposes.
Now, I bet most families make a very similar (if not the same) version of these. I don't know the actual origins of them, but the origins in my family probably started with my grandma. Grandma was a master recipe clipper, and I have the inherited boxes to prove it. This seems like one that may have come from the back of a package or cookbook from the '50's. And yes, it's basically a chicken liver-less version of rumaki.
Sure enough, when I decided to make these in January, the kids all said that it smelled like Christmas. But the truth is, these make great appetizers year round. Toothpicks make them easy pickins while your eyes are glued to the big game, or while you're socializing at a party, or when you're too lazy to make anything else on a Friday night.
I hope you'll give these a try, and that your family and friends will love them as much as mine do. I also hope you'll pop over to see Leslie's appetizer for She Made, Ella Hace this month—this Queso Fundido de Chorizo con Nopales!
Leslie and I have teamed up to occasionally make a our own versions of the same dish. We want to see how similar (or how different) they turn out. Other times we will pick an ingredient and see what each other make from it. Good food knows no borders and we hope to share the food we love with you.
yield: 50-60 bites
Bacon-wrapped Water Chestnuts
prep time: 15 MINScook time: 1 hour and 20 MINStotal time: 1 hours and 35 mins
Crunchy water chestnuts wrapped in bacon and baked in a sticky-sweet glaze make irresistible holiday or game day appetizers.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds regular sliced bacon (not thick-cut), see notes
- 3 (8 ounce) cans whole water chestnuts, see notes
- 2 cups loosely packed light brown sugar
- 1 (14 ounce) bottle ketchup
- wooden toothpicks
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with a double-layer of foil. Cut the bacon in half across the center (the short way). Drain the water chestnuts.
- Place a water chestnut on the end of one slice of bacon. Roll the chestnut inside of the bacon and set on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all of the water chestnuts are used, lining them up in 5-6 rows of 10.
- Slide the baking sheet into preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes, turning the pan from front to back halfway through. While they are cooking, stir the brown sugar and ketchup together in a small bowl until you have a thick paste.
- Remove the tray from the oven. Using another baking sheet that is the same size (you can wrap the bottom of the sheet in foil if you want to avoid more dishes), very carefully set it on top of the tray of wrapped water chestnuts. Using pot holders, grab both sides and apply light pressure, to hold the food in, lift and tip so that the bacon grease pours out one corner into a jar/can. Once all of the grease is gone, set the tray back down and remove the top one.
- Pour the sugar-ketchup paste evenly over the top of the water chestnuts; use the back of a spoon to rub over any exposed parts. Stick a toothpick through the center of each one. Slide back into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes longer, until bacon is cooked through and the glaze is thick and bubbling, turning sheet from front to back halfway through.
- As soon as you can handle them, use the toothpicks to pick them up and transfer to a serving tray. Or do like we do and eat them straight from the pan, burning our mouth in the rush... Either way, enjoy!
Notes:
- An 8-ounce can of water chestnuts seems to have 13-20 chestnuts in it, depending on the size. You'll need one slice of bacon for every 2 water chestnuts, which I've found usually averages out to about 1 3/4 pounds.
©All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
Created using The Recipes Generator
