One of the most hilarious conversations I ever had was with an elderly woman at a progressive dinner. If you don’t know what a progressive dinner is, it’s a social gathering where you travel to different houses for each course of a meal. At this particular progressive dinner, we were having appetizers and I had brought bacon wrapped dates. Here was the conversation:
Elderly woman: These are so good! What are they?
Me: Bacon wrapped dates.
Her: But what’s in them?
Me: Bacon wrapped dates.
Her: I know that’s what they are called, but what’s in them?
Me: Just bacon and dates.
Her: But how do you make them?
Me: You wrap bacon around a date.
Her: Yes, but what are they?
This conversation went on and on for about 15 minutes. It felt just like Abbott & Costello’s Who’s On First. She just couldn’t believe how delicious something was that was that simple and easy.
And it makes sense. These bacon wrapped dates are mind-blowingly good. You have the sweet chewiness from the date plus the salty, fatty crunch of the bacon. Yum. Yum. Yum!
But let me just say quickly, that I have a rather strong opinion about bacon wrapped dates. (Shocker, I know. I have a strong opinion about everything.) At that same progressive dinner, my father-in-law commented on how many disappointing bacon wrapped dates he had eaten in the past, and its true. Even though there are myriad date recipes out there, many of them miss the key cooking technique.
So let me fill you in on two little secrets that will guarantee the best bacon wrapped dates of your life:
- Precook your bacon. Yes, you heard me. If you don’t precook your bacon, it will never be completely crispy. I always cook my bacon on a microwaveable tray. If cooking a strip for one minute makes it completely done, when I make bacon wrapped dates, I only cook it for 30 seconds. In other words, regardless of how you normally cook your bacon, only cook it for have of that time when you make these dates, and then set it aside to cool.
- Only wrap you bacon once. I have seen people wrap an entire slice of bacon around a single date. This is just plain wrong. You end up with a crispy outer bacon shell and soggy bacon underneath if you do it that way. Rather, only wrap the date once, and you’re guaranteed crispy bacon all the way around. Yay!
Now that you know my two secrets, it’s your turn to get in the kitchen and whip up this masterpiece. It is so quick and easy, I know that it will soon be your go-to appetizer recipe!
Oh yeah, and just a quick aside, look at the cute little hand in this picture. No, that’s not mine; it’s my two year old daughter’s. She is a super awesome food stylist (and food eater). She loves these bacon wrapped dates too!
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These are a super quick and easy appetizer. Plus, they are Paleo and Whole 30 friendly! Be sure to try these bacon wrapped medjool dates the next time you have a special occasion.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350.
Cook all of the bacon until halfway done. Set aside to cool.
Wrap each date with bacon only once. Secure with a toothpick. Using kitchen scissors, trim the rest away. (I can usually wrap two dates using one piece of bacon.
Place the bacon wrapped dates on a baking sheet and cook for 15-18 minutes.
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