grilling - Around My Family Table

How to Grill: Using a Smoker

May 25, 2013 · by amft · 4 Comments

There are a lot of grilling recipes in books and on the internet, but they often don’t tell you exactly how to grill or how to use the equipment. I’ve put together this 9-week summer series, How to Grill, to help teach you what you need to know to get out there and use your grills, smokers, and how to perfectly cook your meats, veggies, and fruits. This post focuses on how to use a smoker (which really isn’t grilling at all). We have tons of family and friends who are always asking, “how do I use a smoker?” It’s easier than you might think! Keep reading…..there is a giveaway you don’t want to miss!

How to Use Smokers

Smoking vs Grilling
Smoking is much different from grilling. Smoking requires a low heat with a much longer cooking time to be successful. The meat is also further away from the heat source than it is in grilling. Typically, grilling is fast with high heat (over 400F). When smoking, temperatures are usually only around 200-275F. For large cuts of meat, plan for about 1 to 1.5 hours of smoking for each pound of meat. Cooking times vary based on the exact temperature and the type of smoker.

Electric vs Charcoal
We’ve used both types of smokers over the years. While some people swear by a charcoal smoker, it takes a lot of patience and attention….it was perfect for us when we didn’t have kids and could just sit around watching our meat cook. However, for the last ten years or so we’ve used only electric smokers and I have to tell you we prefer it. The taste is pretty much the same because you are infusing your meat with the flavors of the wood chips, not necessarily the charcoal.

Why I Prefer Masterbuilt
When Masterbuilt sent me a brand new smoker I was over the moon, but there was nothing wrong with my old Masterbuilt smoker. We’ve used several different brands of smokers in our 15 years of smoking foods, but prefer Masterbuilt…that’s why I was so excited to be working with them on this project! They are a leader in the their industry by providing innovative, high quality products and services.

We upgraded from a small Masterbuilt electric smoker to the 30in Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smokehouse. It has a built in meat probe for ease of temperature checking which ensures the meat is perfectly cooked without opening and closing the door a lot. It has a remote, so we can be in our house and adjust things…perfect for stormy days or days where it’s 120F outside (yes, it really gets that hot here). The remote controls and monitors temperature, time, internal light, on/off and meat temperature. This smoker also has foam insulation which keeps the heat it.

Find Masterbuilt smokers at home improvement stores, big box stores, and Amazon.

Become Your Own PitMaster
Hubbyman is the pitmaster in our house! He loves getting outside and cooking meat (I think I’ve heard him grunt a few times like Tim Allen). Besides reading this post, it’s a good idea to get a couple of really good cookbooks that focus on smoking. We’ve been enjoying the series from John McLemore (the CEO of Masterbuilt) called Dadgum That’s Good and Dadgum That’s Good Too! These books are great for beginner smokers or those just looking for some new recipes.

Wood Chips
Pecan, cherry, mesquite, and hickory woods are often used in smokers. Soak wood chips for about 30 minutes, drain, and place in the smoker according to your smoker’s guidelines. Adding wood chips often through out the cooking time will impart a wonderful, deep flavor.

We love smoking so much that when we were buying trees for our yard, we made sure to buy trees that we could use the wood for smoking. We bought a mesquite tree and dry out the clippings for use in our smoker.

Mesquite and hickory are great all-purpose woods while pecan is excellent with beef and cherry is perfect with pork. Really, feel free to change it with what you find at the store and what ever you like.

Tips
-Only turn the meat one or two times during the cooking cycle.
-Keep the door closed as much as possible so that heat doesn’t escape and extend the cooking time.
-Monitor the temperature of the smoker, adding more coals or adjusting the temperature during the cooking process.
-Keep the water pan 3/4 full. You can also add spices, seasonings or marinades to the water pan to add flavor.
-When you cut into to the meat you might noticed a red ring around the outside of the meat. This is the smoke ring and highly desirable….it doesn’t mean the meat isn’t cooked. A thermometer will help you know the meat is cooked to the proper temperature.
-Only use dry rubs for the majority of the cooking time. Add any liquid marinades or sauces during the last 30 minutes otherwise they will burn.

Isn’t she such a well loved smoker?

6 Easy Steps for Smoking Meat

Apply dry rub or wet rub to the meat and let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight. If using a wet rub, pat meat dry before adding to the smoker.
Light charcoal and let the fire burn down or preheat your electric smoker. Once the fire is burned down (charcoal only) and smoker is hot, add a handful of your wood chips. Use the vents on your smoker to stabilize the temperate around 225 to 250 degrees.
If using a water smoker, add hot water to the water pan. Add herbs and spices for additional flavoring during the cooking process.
Place items to be smoked in the smoker, with room around the meat. If using a water smoker, place the meat over the water pan so that any drippings will fall into pan.
Maintain the smoker at a temperature between 225 to 250F. You will probably need to add charcoal if smoking more than 4 hours. Wood chips can be added every 45 minutes to 2 hours. You will also need to turn the meat every 2 to 3 hours.
During the final 30 of smoking, apply your favorite barbecue sauce.

Smoking Meat Guidelines*

Meat	Smoking Temp	Time to Complete	Finished Temp	Wood Chips
Brisket	225°F	1.5 hrs/pound	190° (sliced) 200° (pulled)	any
Beef Ribs	225°F	3-4 hrs	175°	Pecan
Pork Butt	225°F	1.5 hrs/pound	180° (sliced) 205° (pulled)	Cherry
Whole Chicken	250°F	4 hrs	165°	Mesquite
Whole Turkey ~12lbs	240°F	6.5 hrs	165°	Mesquite, Hickory
Turkey Breast – bone in	240°F	4-6 hrs	165°	Mesquite, Hickory
Breakfast Sausage	230°F	3 hrs	160°	any
Baby Back Ribs	225-240°F	5-6 hrs	Tender*	Cherry, Hickory
Salmon	140-160°F	5-7 hrs	145°	Hickory
Smoked Potatoes	225°F	2 – 2.5 hrs	N/A	any

*These are just guidelines to get you started. Experiment with different woods
and always use a thermometer to check for doneness.

Want to know more? Check out the other posts in this series:

How to Grill using a Gas Grill
More coming…Saturdays this Summer!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Masterbuilt sent us a new smoker and set of cookbooks to review. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: grilling, how to, How to Grill Series · Tagged: grilling, how to, smoker

How to Grill using a Gas Grill

May 18, 2013 · by amft · 8 Comments

There are a lot of grilling recipes in books and on the internet, but they often don’t tell you exactly how to grill or how to use the equipment. I’ve put together this 9-week summer series, How to Grill, to help teach you what you need to know to get out there and use your grills, smokers, and how to perfectly cook your meats, veggies, and fruits. This first week is all about how to grill on a gas grill. There are definitely some tricks to grilling on a gas grill versus a charcoal grill.

I love cooking on gas grills more than anything else. They are so easy and perfect for beginners, if you are in a hurry, or don’t have the patience to deal with a charcoal grill. It’s also less messy and there are fewer products that you need to store, just in case you live in a small space.

How to Grill using a Gas Grill

Location:
The grill should be set securely on a level surface that is about 10 feet from any structure. Most gas grills use lava rocks and should be arranged under the grilling grate per your grill’s user manual.

Inspection:
Before hooking up the propane tank to the grill, inspect the line for any signs of leaks or cracks. Make sure the control valve is tightly closed and place the tank on the tank platform with the valve opening facing the grill connection. Screw tank to the line. To check for leaks at the valve connection put a little soapy water at the place where the valve and the line connect. If you see new bubbles, then the tank is leaking and should be reattached.

Tip: A handy gadget would be a propane level gauge found at most home improvement stores. It’s a small gauge that sits between the propane tank valve and gas line. It monitors the amount of gas left in the tank and is a wonderful tool so that you know when you are close to running out of gas.

Lighting the Grill:
Open the propane valve and the grill lid. Turn the gas flow control (aka one of the burner knobs designated in the user manual) all the way open and immediately press the lighter switch. The gas will ignite. Turn on as many burners you will need (we have a 5 burner grill and use two for a typical grilling session for a family of 4). Close lid and let grill heat up for about 10 minutes while you bring out your food to be cook.

Note: if the gas does not ignite immediately, turn off the gas control knob and wait several minutes before trying again.

Grilling:
After the grill has been heating for several minutes, take a wire brush (or even crumpled ball of aluminum foil) and rub over the cooking grates. This needs to be every time, even if you cleaned the grates after the last use. The heat loosens the tiny bits of food debris that may have been left behind and brushing the grates easily removes anything remaining.

After the grill is hot, soak a paper towel with olive oil or vegetable oil and grasp the towel between a pair of long metal tongs and lubricate the hot cooking grates going over each area you plan to use several times.

Heat Test:
To determine how hot the grill is without using a thermometer, use this simple test.

Hold your hand about five inches above the lit grill and count how many seconds you can hold it there comfortably.

5-6 seconds: Your grill is at about 250-degrees, which is equal to low heat.

3-4 seconds: Your grill is at about 350-degrees, which is equal to medium heat.

1 second: Your grill is between 450-degrees and 500-degrees, which is equal to high heat.

Direct Heat Grilling:
Most grilling is done using a direct heat method. The burners should be turned on at the same level. If grilling meat, sear both sides to keep the juices trapped in the meat and avoid turning the meat frequently during the early grilling stages. For vegetables, they should be evenly cut to ensure even cooking. Larger cuts can be placed directly on the grill while smaller pieces should be placed in a grilling basket.

Indirect Heat Grilling:
The use of a foil drip is needed and should be placed in the bottom middle of the grill under the inside burners before turning on the grill. The outside burners should be turned on high while the inside should be turned off. The flame should be adjusted and maintained at the desired level.

Cleaning:
After use, turn on all burners, close the lid and let the fire burn off any remaining food. After 5 minutes, brush the grill with the wire brush to remove anything remaining. Then turn all the burners off, then turn the gas flow control on the grill off.

Keep the lava rocks as clean as possible by rearranging them on occasion. Once they are too greasy, it’s best to replace them. Some gas grills have metal sheets instead of lava rocks, clean these when they seem dirty and according to the user manual.

Want to know more? Check out the other posts in this series:

How to Grill: Using a Smoker

More coming…Saturdays this Summer!

Filed Under: grilling, how to, How to Grill Series · Tagged: gas, grilling, how to

Fire Cracker Chicken Skewers with a Cooling Lime Cream Sauce

January 25, 2013 · by amft · 9 Comments

Sometimes things come together so perfectly that it’s like a match made in heaven. I think my Fire Cracker Chicken Skewers with a cooling Lime Cream Sauce are so perfect together that it makes my mouth jump for joy! The last time my mouth was this happy was when I made my Samoa Cupcakes. Oh yeah baby…you have to check those out!

The chicken takes a little hot sauce bath, then massaged with a mixture of herbs and spices before being threaded onto skewers and grilled to perfection. Can’t handle the heat…dip them in a cooling lime cream sauce to to cool your mouth. I promise not to judge you (at least not too your face) if you use the dip. Hubbyman loves the dip I prefer mine naked.

Each of these little skewers are packed with so much amazing flavor that I just can’t contain myself when we make them. I think 30 seconds after I took the photos I had eaten the entire plate. I know..so much for self control, right?!? But if you are a fan of spicy foods or chicken wings then you won’t want to pass up these babies. They are like chicken wings on steroids. It’s not that they are super spicy, just full of flavor.

Fire Cracker Chicken Skewers with a Cooling Lime Cream Sauce

Hot Sauce, brown sugar, and an assortment of herbs and spices come together to create match made in heaven. These chicken skewers are a little spicy and a little sweet, but the lime cream sauce will surely cool down any overheated mouths.

3 lbs chicken strips or boneless skiness chicken breasts cut into strips

bamboo skewers

Marinade:

2 cups Red Hot Sauce

2 cups brown sugar

2 tbls vinegar

1 stick butter (or non-dairy butter stick)

Seasoning:

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/2 cup Italian seasoning

1/4 cup chili powder

1/4 cup paprika

1/4 cup dried rosemary

2 tbls red pepper flakes (or to your level of heat)

Cooling Lime Cream:

1 lime, juiced

1 cup sour cream

Combine sauce ingredients in a large mircowave safe dish and heat for one minute or until everything is melted. Stir well to combine. Pour half in a zip top bag with chicken breasts and let sit in fridge while the seasoning is prepared. Store remaining sauce in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Combine seasonings in a large bowl and stir well to combine. Add half of the seasoning mixture to chicken bag and toss to coat. Chicken should be generously coated. Add more seasoning if needed, store reminder in an airtight container for next time (we usually end up using most of ours). Some coating will fall off during cooking, so add more than you think you will need.

Let chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours before cooking.

Preheat grill to medium high heat and soak skewers in water. Thread one piece of chicken on each skewer and place on grill. Cook over medium high heat for about 4 minutes and then flip. Baste with remaining sauce and cook an additional 4 minutes. Flip one last time and baste. Cook for about 30 seconds just to cook the sauce on each side.

Cooling Lime Cream:

Combine lime juice and sour cream in a small dish. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/01/fire-cracker-chicken-skewers/

Filed Under: ef main dishes, gf main dishes, grilling, poultry · Tagged: chicken, gluten free, grilling, supper

Pizza Fixin’s Bar Party Ideas

September 27, 2012 · by amft · 65 Comments

We have family parties all the time and love to have friends over for dinner. I love cooking for other people, but sometimes I love to let people create their own masterpieces…like with a hot dog bar, nacho station, or these fun pizza fixin’s bar party ideas.

I was already planning on having family over on Sunday, but after the drama of our house almost burning down on Saturday I decided to keep the party relatively simple. Basically, I purged my fridge and came up with some awesome pizza ideas using the new Flatout Pizza Bread. It has like 7g of protein and only 150 calories per flatbread. So they are really pretty healthy.

I had traditional goodies on hand too for the kids (and the adults) who didn’t want to get creative. The flatbreads really made quick work of everyone’s pizza. Hubbyman pre-cooked one side on the grill before everyone arrived, so everyone just had to top their pizzas and throw it back on the grill for a couple more minutes. We used a pizza stone on the grill, but it’s not necessary.

Here are the four fabulous pizzas we created:

Greek Pizza
Carne Asada Pizza
Chicken Fajita Pizza
BBQ Pork Pizza

I think the favorite of the day had to be the BBQ pork pizza.

Greek Pizza

Topping Suggestions for the Greek Pizza:

garlic olive oil
feta
black olives
kalamata olives
spinach
onions, peppers, tomatoes
gyro meat
tzatziki sauce

Carne Asada Pizza

Topping Suggestions for the Carne Asada Pizza:

garlic olive oil
carne asada meat (or thinly sliced cooked steak)
caramelized onions
green onions
shredded mozerella cheese

Chicken Fajita Pizza

Topping Suggestions for the Chicken Fajita Pizza:

pizza/tomato sauce
fajita chicken meat
jalapenos (fresh or pickled)
mexican blend shredded cheese
bacon bits
veggies

BBQ Pork Pizza

Topping Suggestions for the BBQ Pork Pizza:

garlic olive oil
caramelized onions
bbq pork
slices of mozzarella cheese
drizzle of blue cheese dressing

Disclaimer: Flatout Bread and the Motherhood provided me with the pizza bread and compensation to buy toppings for the party. All opinions and recipe ideas are my own.

Filed Under: beef, grilling, main dishes, party food, party themes, pork, poultry, vegetarian · Tagged: grilling, party, party food, pizza

Steak Tampico

September 17, 2012 · by amft · 6 Comments

You know me…I love to recreate our favorite restaurant dishes at home. This is a recreation of one of my favorites from a local Mexican joint. I used to get it all the time..when it was like $12, but times have changed and prices gone up and I can’t stand paying almost $20 for a small steak covered in a tasty cheese sauce. When I first tried out this recipe, hubbyman and I were so excited…it was almost exactly the same.

You have to get over the fact that there is Velveeta in this. Trust me…if you order any sort of cheese dip at a restaurant then they use Velveeta. Even in-house made mac and cheese in most restaurants use it. There is a time and place for everything and this is Velveeta’s time!

This recipe really is so easy. It’s all about the ratio of cheese and chiles that makes it scrumptious. I realize that it seems like cheese dip, but the high amount of chilies to cheese makes the chili flavor really shine through. I used my own roasted chiles, but feel free to use a can of diced roasted green chiles.

One thing I hate doing in the kitchen is chopping garlic. I don’t have the patience, I know…silly, right!? I hate how small it is, I hate the lingering smell on my hands, well…you get the point. I’ve used prechopped garlic, grated garlic, a garlic press, but this fun gadget from Joie is one of the most useful little gadgets I’ve tried in a long time. If you just need a rough chop of a couple cloves then this is your tool. Even my 8yo can do it!

Go check out their other fun gadgets…I know my mother-in-law is going to love this one for her birthday next month!

So, what are you thinking about this steak covered in a spicy cheese sauce? Sounds good, right?!?! I know you are going to love this one!

Steak Tampico

4 steaks, grilled to perfection

8 oz Velveeta

4 oz diced roasted green chiles

1 clove garlic, minced

Melt Velveeta, chiles, and garlic in a glass bowl in the microwave for one minute. Stir. Then continue heating in 30 second intervals until the cheese is melted and everything is combined.

Smother your perfectly cooked steak!

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/09/steak-tampico/

Disclaimer: Joie sent me a couple fun gadgets to play around with. All opinions are my own. But I do really enjoy their products…I’ve given out their products as gifts to family and friends before I was asked to do the review!

Filed Under: beef, grilling, kitchen gadgets, main dishes, review · Tagged: gadget, grilling, review, steak, supper

How to Roast Green Chiles

September 12, 2012 · by amft · 9 Comments

I love late summer. It brings monsoon rains, the promise of cooling weather, back to school, AND Hatch Green Chiles. Oh yeah!

Hubbyman loves to find a local store or restaurant to buy roasted green chiles, but this year we decided to roast our own. And it worked out perfectly that we got a ton in our produce co-op basket last weekend. I’m not ready to commit to a whole case just yet, so we just played with dozen or so that we did get.

So, get yourself a big bag of green chiles, wash them, and fire up the grill!

Wash and dry the chiles. Preheat grill to high and place chiles in a grill basket.

Roast chiles over high heat, turning often to blacken and blister the skin. About 5 minutes per side.

Using tongs, remove chiles from basket and place in a heavy duty zip top baggie (or a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap). This loosens the skin for easy removal. Let sit for about 15-20 minutes.

Once cool, cut off the stem end. Slice down the middle and remove seeds and veins. Flip over and remove the skin. Roughly chop or slice the chiles. Place in zip top baggies and freeze for future use. Freeze in small snack-sized baggies in amounts similar to what you would normally use in a recipe.

**If you have sensitive skin or worry about the chile juice, use gloves to protect your hands.**

Filed Under: grilling, how to, veggies · Tagged: green chiles, grilling

New BBQ Pan with Teflon

August 26, 2012 · by amft · 167 Comments

Hubbyman lives for grilling. I think he would grill out every night if I would let him. It’s so easy and (not to make everyone jealous) we have perfect grilling weather 365 days a year. That’s one awesome benefit to living in the desert!

We’ve been trying out the new BBQ grill pan with DuPont Teflon ScratchGuard for about a month now and really like it. It’s big enough that we can cook our whole meal with this pan on the grill. We can cook our meat and veggies together. What’s really cool about the pan is the fat runoff grates. All the grease drains away from the cooking meat. And because of the hard anodized aluminum, the meat cooks evenly while keeping away flare ups and allowing the flavors of the grill to infuse the food. It measures 18″L x 12″W x 2″H and is safe up to 500F.

The pan cleans up super easy too! It is non-stick so messes wipe up nicely, but if you don’t want to hand wash…throw it in the dishwasher (that’s a huge bonus for me)! Of course because it’s coated with scratchguard you can use your favorite grilling utensils…even metal!

Find it at QVC or a similar model at your local IKEA! OR win one here…cuz I love to share great finds with y’all.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: DuPont Teflon provided a pan for my review. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: grilling, kitchen gadgets, review · Tagged: grilling, review

Street Tacos

July 6, 2012 · by amft · 10 Comments

We love grilling out and love Mexican food. My newest obsession in the Mexican food world are street tacos. I order them everywhere I go and then compare them to each other….yes, I am that geeky. And yes, hubbyman gets tired of hearing me talk about them; however, he adds fuel to the fire when he finds a new place that sells them.

So these aren’t true street tacos because I used a little bit larger tortilla which is an uncooked tortilla by my favorite company, TortillaLand…I just couldn’t bring myself to buy a different brand. I’ve become so addicted to them. Have you tried an uncooked tortilla yet? Trust me…you won’t go back to regular tortillas. These only have 5 ingredients…and you would find it all in your pantry!

I ended up turning some of the meat into burritos for the kids. For some reason, they thought “street tacos” sounded yucky. However, I put all the same stuff plus refried beans into the burrito and they ate it happily! Go figure! Please note: if you cut the meat for street tacos then it does not really matter which way you cut it. However, if you are cutting it for strips in a burrito or fajitas, then you must cut it against the grain.

Street Tacos

2 lbs flank steaks or 2 lbs skirt steaks, trimmed of excess fat

8 (taco sized) uncooked flour tortillas, cooked according to package

crumbled queso fresco (or shredded monterey jack cheese)

2 limes, cut into wedges

pico de gallo

Marinade:

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapenos, minced

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

3 small limes, juice of

3 oranges, juice of

2 tbls white vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine marinade in a large ziptop baggie (note: if you have a good blender or food processor feel free to use it to combine ingredients instead of chopping). Add steak to baggie and refrigerate at least 1 hour, but no more than 8 hours.

Prepare grill with a medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade and season both sides with a little additional salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat for 10-15 minutes for a medium consistency. Remove from heat and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

Cut against the grain in to strips or into bite sized pieces. Serve as tacos, burritos, or fajitas with queso fresco, limes, refried beans and pico de gallo.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/07/street-tacos/

Disclaimer: TortillaLand send me a box of tortillas, but they came while I was out town…so they spoiled. I honestly LOVE these tortillas and really do use them, so lucky me I had some in the fridge already. Honestly, my family gets upset if I buy a different brand now. LOL!

Filed Under: beef, cinco de mayo, grilling, main dishes · Tagged: beef, grilling, mexican, tacos

Shrimp and Bacon Kabobs

May 24, 2012 · by amft · 29 Comments

Around our house, we celebrate summer with kabobs! If we can put it on a skewer then we grill it up. One of my favorites is shrimp and bacon. It’s very versatile and goes with a ton of different marinades. However, over the years we have figured out a couple tricks for these tasty suppers on a stick.

I recently had the change to try some of Lawry’s new marinades and when I opened up the new Santa Fe Chili marinade, I knew it would be PERFECT for my shrimp and bacon skewers. It wasn’t spicy at all, but full of flavor with tons of herbs and spices and a little bit sweet. Honestly, this was the first time we were able to get our kiddos to try shrimp..and they loved it.

I was checking out Lawry’s site and saw that I could make my own Dinnertisement (aka my own commercial). It was fun and took just a minute or two and then the kids made me play it over and over and OVER! Here is mine: AMFT Dinnertisement

Shrimp and Bacon Kabobs

12 oz 41-60 shrimp, peeled and deviened

6 slices thick-cut bacon, uncooked

1/2 bottle Lawry's Santa Fe Chili Marinade*

6 bamboo skewers

paper towels

lime wedges

Place shrimp in a large zip-top baggie (or medium bowl) and cover with marinade. Place in refrigerator and allow to marinade for 30-60 minutes.

Soak bamboo skewers, while bacon cooks. place 2 paper towels n a microwave safe plate, lay bacon in a single layer on towels, top with two more paper towels. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Check bacon. It should still be little uncooked, enough that it can bend and be threaded on the skewers. If it's too raw, then it won't finish cooking on the grill and too done and it won't thread on the skewers. Bacon should look similar to this:

Remove skewers from water. Place a shrimp on skewer, then add the bacon, another shrimp, weave the bacon around and back onto the skewer. Repeat for about 5 shrimps or until bacon is used up. Repeat for other 5 skewers.

Lightly oil grill and preheat to medium-high heat. Turn down to medium heat. Place skewers over direct heat and cook. Use fresh marinade to baste the shrimp and bacon while cooking. Shrimp cook fast, only a couple minutes on each side (this is why partially pre-cooking the bacon is so important).

*Or use your favorite marinade

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/05/shrimp-and-bacon-kabobs/