BACON LACED SCALLOPS

So I don’t typically care for bacon wrapped scallops and almost never order them – which is odd considering my sincere lust for both ingredients.  The reason being, 99% of the time the scallops are over-cooked when wrapped in bacon.  In fact, I rarely order scallops at all because I’ve found that they’re generally over-cooked in most restaurants in my opinion – with numerous exceptions of course.  But really, I think this is the reason that so many people dislike the lovely bivalves.  Which, in a way is good because if everybody shared my love for these little nuggets of pleasure – I’m sure we’d rape the sea floor to their demise and we are already doing enough damage there.

Take my word you can eat these things raw and they taste phenomenal.  So when you’re cooking them – take it easy chief.  I prepare mine and have converted many friends to eating them essentially seared around the outside and just warmed in the middle – MAX.  So in this recipe to avoid the metallic – gritty scallops we’re so used to eating the key is to use the thinnest bacon you can find.  If you have an old school butcher like the Italian guy at 16th Street & Bethany in phoenix – go in and have him slice it for you.  Yeah, that was my plug to support your local butcher – supermarkets do not count as your local butcher by the way.

Alrighty, so you have your thin sliced bacon – now get your scallops.  FYI – for the most part all scallops are previously frozen but if you can find them fresh go for it!  Anywhoo, you want to buy U-10 or U-12 scallops.  This is the size designation, basically means that in 1 pound you’ll get 10 or 12 scallops – the lower the number the bigger the scallops.  Often they are called colossal – point of the story buy the biggest bastards you can get your hands on.

First things first – turn your grill on HIGH HEAT before you start prepping the scallops.  Ok, scallops & bacon in hand – now all you need is Slavo Salt and we’re ready to make it happen.  Bla Bla Bla – no selfless promotion – this shit seals the deal.  Alright, pay attention.  Lightly season your scallops all around with Slavo Salt – no need to be excessive just lightly dust the little bastards.  You’re going to use 1 piece of bacon for every 3-4 scallops in this recipe.  I typically like to serve 3 scallops if there are a lot of other components to the meal, i.e. apps, salad, soup, etc.  If it’s a simple one dish meal then go with 4 scallops each.

Lay your bacon out on the cutting board and place your first scallop on top of the end of the bacon.  Next, wrap the bacon snuggly around the top of the scallop like a “C” around the scallop.  Now place your next scallop on top of the first scallop – again wrap your bacon over the top of the second scallop – making a “S” with the bacon around the scallops.  Repeat this with your remaining scallops.  Last, place a skewer through the center of the scallops.  When you’re done the skewer, bacon and scallops should look like a $ symbol from the side.  Got it?  Great now repeat this process for the number of guest you’re serving. 

So your grill should be rippin’ hot by now.  Place your scallop kababs on the grill with one of the “exposed bacon sides” down.  Leave it just like that for about 1 minute – then turn it over gently 180ºs so the other “exposed bacon side” is down on the grill.  Just a warning, bacon has a lot of fat (no kidding) so there are going to be some flare-ups and that’s fine just don’t allow the scallops to be completely engulfed in flames or they’ll taste like sooty-crap.  Cook the scallops on the second side for about another minute.  The bacon should begin to develop nice color and no longer look raw.  If needed flip them back over to the first side and cook another minute.  This entire cooking process should take no longer that 4 minutes over a screaming hot grill and you’re only placing the ”exposed bacon sides” on the grill.  So after the 4 minutes of cooking, pull the kebabs off the grill and allow them to “rest” on a plate for approxamently 5 minutes (scallops will carry-over cook just like a steak or roast will).  Remove the skewer before serving.