Grilled Bacon Scallops

As you may have heard me say a few times over the past few weeks, we are renovating our kitchen.  As in, I have no stovetop, no oven, no sink, no dishwasher, no counters…you get the drift.  But I do have a grill, and over the past few weeks I’ve been taking it as my own personal challenge to make something other than cheeseburgers on it.  Since I have no sink (did I mention that?) these have to be things that don’t require mixing bowls or anything similar, since I took a solemn vow that I would not, I repeat NOT, wash any dishes in the bathtub.  Just…no.  At any rate, among the various things you can make on the grill with no muss, no fuss and no kitchen, are the grilled variation of the Southern husband’s favorite appetizer: scallops wrapped in bacon!

The two indoor appliances that I still do have (both of which are hiding out in my breakfast room at the moment) are my fridge and a microwave, and the microwave is necessary to this recipe, because you want the bacon to be cooked about halfway through before you put the skewers together.  Why is that, you might ask?  Because you want the scallops cooked just until they are tender, and if you started with uncooked bacon, by the time the bacon was cooked through you would have overcooked scallops.  Make sense?

Aside from that, you make these babies pretty much the same way you make the appetizer version, except you are using a skewer instead of a toothpick.  Get nice big sea scallops (and if you can, ask for dry scallops.  Dry scallops are fresh scallops that haven’t been treated with preservatives and they taste a whole lot better.  Wet scallops aren’t the end of the world if that’s all you can find though).  Wrap them with a strip of half-cooked bacon and thread them onto a metal skewer, or a wooden skewer that has been soaked with water.  The soaked with water part ensures that the wooden skewer doesn’t burst into flames, which could put a damper on your dinner.  I was able to fit three on a skewer, which made for a perfect portion for each person.

Now brush them with olive oil, grind on a little fresh pepper and put them on a medium-high grill bacon side down for about 4 minutes per side – you want the bacon nice and crispy.  By then the scallops should also be done (they should not be transparent looking at all) but if you think they still need a little cooking, put the skewer scallop side down until the scallops look done.

I like to serve these with a squeeze of fresh lemon and some chives, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar would also be heaven.  When I have a kitchen, I put the skewers down on a bed of rice and do the drizzling so it hits some of the rice too.  But I don’t.  Have a kitchen.  Did I mention that?

Love my grill! 

Grilled Bacon Scallops

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• Yield: 2 servings, can be increased as needed

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Ingredients

• 6 large sea scallops (try for dry scallops)
• 6 strips bacon
• Olive oil
• Fresh ground pepper
• Lemons
• Chopped fresh chives
• Balsamic vinegar
• Freshly cooked white or brown rice for serving

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Instructions

1. Cook the bacon until halfway cooked (you can do this in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes or in the microwave for 3 minutes. Let cool until you can handle them safely.
2. Wrap each scallop in a strip of bacon, and thread three bacon scallops onto each metal skewer through the bacon. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before using them.
3. Brush the scallops on all sides with olive oil and grind some fresh pepper on top.
4. Heat the grill to medium high and place the skewers bacon-side down. Cook for 4 minutes and then flip the to the other bacon side, using tongs. Cook another 4 minutes until bacon is cooked through.
5. If the scallops aren’t cooked through and opaque-looking by the time the bacon is done, place the skewers scallop-side down on the grill for another minute or two.
6. If you are serving the scallops with rice, place the rice on the plates and then place the skewers on the rice. Drizzle rice and scallops with fresh lemon juice, fresh chopped chives and/or balsamic vinegar.
7. Serve, cautioning folks to be careful if the skewers are still hot.