Monday, January 31, 2011

Chorizo-Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of trying this awesome appetizer at a restaurant in Downtown Chicago. I've made bacon-wrapped dates before, but I usually stuff them with almonds. Well, those are good...but these are GREAT! I've heard them called paleo candy. Whatever you want to call them, they're delicious! I made enough for a party. All 50 dates were gone within 30 minutes! Feel free to scale this recipe as needed.

Adapted from http://myhusbandcooks.wordpress.com.

Ingredients
50 medjool dates, pitted (I used extra large dates that I pitted myself.)
2 pounds nitrate-free, thick-cut bacon
1 pound fresh bulk chorizo sausage (Don't use the pre-cooked links, but if you can't find bulk, just remove the casing.)

Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Slice each pitted dates lengthwise using a paring knife. 
  3. Fill date with a small scoop of sausage. I used a baby food spoon to scoop.
  4. Lay bacon out on a cutting board and stretch it so that each piece is about 1/3 longer than when in the package. I used a pastry roller to roll the bacon out.
  5. Starting at one end, roll the bacon around a date so that it is covered 1 1/2 times. Cut the bacon and place the date, seam side down, on a rack fitted into a rimmed baking sheet. Continue rolling the dates until done.
  6. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until bacon is cooked.
  7. Use a small spoon to fill dates.
    Filled date
    Wrapped date
    Place dates on a rack set in
    a rimmed baking sheet.

4 comments:

  1. I made these today as a trial run, before I bring them to Christmas brunch. I should have rolled out the bacon instead of using it straight, but otherwise they were awesome. I had to stop myself from eating the mini-batch of 10 I made. Thanks for the recipe, Pam.

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  2. Great contribution for a Christmas party! The bacon rolling is key to getting the dates to bake right, but it was good you realized that during your trial run. These are addicting--I bet they won't last long at your gathering. Thanks for the nice comments!

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  3. There are some good tips here that I want to try. I've made these before (from Everyday Paleo) but I felt like I used too much bacon and it just didn't cook right and was too chewy (I prefer crispy bacon). I would like to try your version to see if they turn out better!

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    Replies
    1. The rolling out of the bacon and cooking them for the full time results in a nice crispy bacon and thoroughly cooked sausage. I've made them several times with great results! Let me know how it goes, Sarah!

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