Football Food Favorites from Uncle Rich

One of our team members, Rich Sanders, is a huge fan of football. Family and friends gather every fall in his living room to watch their favorite team play, but they don’t just come to root for the home team.

Rich’s nieces all say “Uncle Rich’s is the place to feed your face,” and with football season in full swing, he wants to share some of the crowd-pleasers that keep his couch filled year after year.

His first recipe, Niman Ranch Bacon-wrapped Gulf Shrimp, is one of the family’s favorites. They love how the smoky bacon flavors the Gulf shrimp and the pop in spice from the jalapeño.
You may ask, “Why U-15 Louisiana Gulf shrimp?” Well, there are 15 shrimp per pound, so they’re larger in size. But most importantly, they’re sweet, wild and caught by fishermen from the USA – not farmed in China or Vietnam.  Rich believes “the bottom line is this: they are better in every way. The same reasons you chose Niman Ranch pork products.”

Uncle Rich’s Niman Ranch Bacon-Wrapped Gulf Shrimp

15 Jumbo (like U-15 Louisiana Gulf) shrimp, peeled and cleaned
15 strips Niman Ranch Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon
1 block feta cheese
3 jalapeño peppers, seeded

1.  Peel and cut the shrimp from the bottom to butterfly open.
2.  Cut the block of feta cheese and jalapeño peppers into long strips. Make sure the feta is cut into sticks the length of the shrimp.
3.  Wrap one shrimp, jalapeño pepper strip and feta cheese strip with one slice of bacon. Repeat for all twelve pieces. You can do this a day ahead if desired.
4.  Set your grill to high. Slowly roll each bundle around until the bacon is brown and crispy on the outside, which should be just enough time to cook the shrimp through.

Quick tip: Preheat the grill 5 minutes before halftime and you will be done before the second half begins.

Have fun!