I never used to like scallops. I think this is in part because I first tried them in a seafood pasta dish, and the scallops were small, overcooked and rubbery. Then I tried the large scallops. Huge ones you can buy fresh at Pike Place Market. And when I tried those delicious large scallops fresh from Pike Place Market, I wondered to myself … what have I been thinking all these years not liking scallops?
So when my mom declared she wanted fresh fish for dinner on Mother’s Day, I jumped when she mentioned getting some scallops along with halibut. Scallops? Yes, please!
I ate Mother’s Day dinner alone. Yep. That’s right. Alone. Not with my mother. Not with anyone, in fact. The reason I ate Mother’s Day dinner alone is a long story involving two 14-year-old dachshunds who no longer get along. Instead of eating scallops with my mom on Mother’s Day, I took my scallops to go, packed in a cooler, and drove back to Portland to eat my scallops alone.
With five good large scallops to use, I knew I needed to find a special recipe. Immediately I thought of bacon-wrapped scallops. In part because I had bacon in the fridge, but also because doesn’t bacon make everything better? I found this recipe heavily peppered all over the internet.
I did a lot of research before embarking on this recipe, including watching a how-to video. Most recipes I found said to wrap uncooked bacon around the scallops and to broil for a long time – between 10 and 20 minutes.
Well everyone knows that overcooking scallops will make them tough and chewy. So I was leery at the idea of broiling the scallops for up to 20 minutes! Instead I decided to cook the bacon until almost done and broil the scallops for a few minutes (I’m guessing it was no more than eight minutes total, after having flipped over the scallops).
The result was perfectly cooked bacon wrapped scallops. If you like scallops and you like bacon you need to try this recipe!
ingredients.
- scallops, rinsed and dried
- sliced bacon, one piece per scallop (not thick cut, the bacon should be more of a garnish)
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
- Chili Lime Mayo, for serving
- cilantro, for garnish
directions.
- Cook bacon over medium heat until just about done. You want it pliable, not crispy. It will crisp very quickly in the broiler. Let cool.
- Preheat your oven broiler. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Wrap each scallop with a piece of bacon and secure with a wooden toothpick. Place the bacon-wrapped scallops onto the prepared baking sheet and season them with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.
- Cook them under the broiler for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the bacon is crisped – turning once mid-way through.
- Serve with a dish of the Chili Lime Mayo for dipping and garnished with cilantro leaves.
This is a recipe you will want to share with others. It’s too impressive not to. Not only that, you don’t need to eat that many of them to get full. So in that regard they would be great for sharing, too. I was good after eating two. By good, I mean no longer hungry. But you can’t reheat scallops (they’ll get tough), so I decided to eat all five in one sitting. They’re that good that you won’t want to let any go to waste.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 