Shillelagh Sticks

Shillelagh Sticks area named after an ancient Irish fighting stick - someone cleverly named this appetizer after that stick.  St. Patrick's Day is coming up so I thought I'd share this recipe with you.












Easy to make on a smoker or even in the oven.  This appetizer is great for any kind of party, easy to prep and quick to make.




Four basic ingredients:
1lb of bacon
2 cans of bread sticks
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan Cheese

Slice the bacon in half lengthwise.







Wrap one half slice of bacon around each bread stick piece.

Seemed easy to start the bacon and then twirl it around the bread stick so the bacon is evenly wrapped around and covering as much dough as possible.











I smoked these on a pellet grill at 275F.  I wanted the bacon to cook completely without overcooking the bread wrapped inside.












You could also bake these in the oven but take some precautions to ensure the grease rendering off of the bacon doesn't create a fire hazard.












While the bacon is cooking, go ahead and make up the seasoning.  Combine equal parts Italian Seasoning and Parmesan Cheese.










After the bacon is done - I cooked these at 275 F for about 70 minutes.  You would think that the bread sticks would be completely overdone - and the ends that were not wrapped in bacon were pretty crispy.  Not inedible but pretty crispy.

The inside bread stick that was wrapped in bacon soaked up some of the grease rendered out of the bacon and was still relatively moist - a little crispy - but pretty tasty.










After you get the snacks out of the smoker or oven and while they are still hot, roll the sticks in the dry spices and Parmesan Cheese and then shake off all the excess.

A nice even cover of seasoning will really add lots of flavor to the bread stick and bacon.

Make plenty of these for your St. Patrick's Day party - they'll go quickly!



Let's eat!