Bacon Wrapped Scallops

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Bacon wrapped scallops are drenched in a quick and easy butter garlic sauce then baked to seafood perfection! These scallops are the perfect appetizer OR main meal, you can choose whichever you want.

If you are looking for more seafood-based appetizers, try my shrimp cocktail with homemade cocktail sauce, or my shrimp dip, you can’t go wrong with either of those.

Fast and Easy Bacon Wrapped Scallops

I have been trying to get giant scallops from Costco for months now, no word of a lie. We finally were able to get them in our last order and I tucked them into the fridge, mentally noting that they were only good for 2 days and that I better use them fast.

Welp, around came two days later, I opened the fridge and panicked like I usually do. We had to cook those raw scallops and we had to cook them NOW.

So what’s a Ukrainian girl do? Well, you add butter and garlic to them, of course! I considered some onion powder but decided that we were going basic Ukrainian, salted butter, and garlic for the win with some parsley for color.

Type of Scallops Needed

There are two main types of scallops that people cook with, Sea scallops and Bay scallops. There is a third kind, calico scallops, but they are darker in color and rarely used as they aren’t that desirable.

Sea Scallops – These are the larger scallops that you will always get when you order seared or bacon wrapped scallops in a restaurant. They are 1-2 inches wide, and 1/2-1 inch thick and are buttery rich in texture. Size matters and the scallops pictured above are U10 scallops, meaning that there are 10 or less per pound, meaning they are BIG scallops!

Bay Scallops – These are the smaller scallops that you will see used in chowders or other seafood dishes. They are cheaper than the sea scallops and too small to wrap in bacon.

How to Make Bacon Wrapped Scallops

These are SO easy to make yet such a divine treat, and that is a winning combination for a recipe, my friends!

• Pat your scallops dry, blotting as much moisture as possible from them.
• Wrap each scallop in bacon, using one slice per scallop with large scallops, and half a piece of bacon for smaller ones.
• Secure the bacon around each scallop with a toothpick or bamboo skewer pushed through the middle of each one, securing the end of the bacon.
• Combine the sauce ingredients, then brush on top of each scallop, making sure that you leave minced garlic on top of each one!
• Sprinkle with cracked pepper and a bit of sea salt, then bake in a 425°F oven for 15-17 minutes, depending on the size of the scallops.
• Remove and serve WITH the toothpicks inserted in each one, letting each person remove the toothpick themselves when they eat it.

Cooking Temperature for Scallops

I am extra paranoid when it comes to seafood, so I researched the temperature that scallops should be cooked to. It’s generally agreed that 125/130°F is the optimum final temperature for texture and safety. If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, you really need to get one. These scallops were $30, so investing in an expensive but good-for-life instant-read thermometer is a must, you will save money in the end!

As always, however, do your own research and decide what you are comfortable with. DO NOT rely on determining how “opaque” the scallops are, that means that first, you are cutting into them to determine that and second, that really depends on personal judgment of opacity, which is very flawed. Professional chefs have told me it takes years to get to the point where they know scallops doneness by look and feel. BE SAFE and go with temperature, this is seafood after all! Food safety first!

Tips and Tricks

• Always choose the freshest scallops you can buy. Scallops smell the same raw as they do when cooked, a very clean, fresh, non-fishy smell that is unique to them.
• Soak your skewers in boiling water before using them. This is a trick I learned from Mr. Magpie’s aquarium buddies, not even kidding haha! You soak the wood in boiling water in order to speed up the process, wood soaks up hot water faster than cold! (aquarium geeks boil their driftwood in order to waterlog it and get it to sink to the bottom of the tank. Now you know a random fact that you didn’t know before, that actually applies to cooking.)
• Pay close attention to handling and the cooking temperature, you are working with seafood!
• Try using flavored bacon for an additional taste!

Happy cooking! These are right in time for the holidays coming up in well, mere weeks at this point I guess, as we Canadians have Thanksgiving coming up ASAP! We all need something to look forward to this holiday season, and yes, I am planning early because it’s keeping my mind occupied with happy thoughts! And those happy thoughts are gonna get me through this weird winter! Also food. And wine.

Love you more than Christmas (barely, but I do)

Karlynn

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