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Bacon Wrapped Smoked Sea Scallops

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I have been eating scallops for most of my adult life but until I tried them smoked, I had no idea just how good they could really be. Bacon wrapped smoked scallops should be on your menu for an upcoming meal, party or get-together.

You really don't need a reason, these are really that good. Some things like smoked lobster, smoked shrimp and now, smoked scallops are a seafood lovers delight.

If you are thinking for one second that the smoke and/or the bacon will get in the way of the natural goodness of the scallop then you would be incorrect. The scallop's natural good flavor shines right through and the smoke and bacon just sort of enhance that goodness.

Do these soon and then shoot me an email and tell me all about it!

Helpful Information
  • Prep Time: 1.5 hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Smoker Temp: 210°F (99°C)
  • Meat Finish Temp: 145°F (63°C)
  • Recommended Wood: Hickory (I have also used apple and it was very good)
What You'll Need
Marinate in Fridge

Place the scallops down into a gallon sized ziptop bag and pour about ¼ cup of olive oil down into the bag.

Roll the bag around gently to coat the scallops with the oil.

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Put about a tablespoon of my original rub  into the bag, seal it up and roll around gently to coat.

I poured them back out of the bag to show a better picture of what they look like.

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Place bag of seasoned scallops in fridge for about 1 hour to marinate. The rub will mix with the olive oil and create a really nice marinade that will really compliment the natural flavor and texture of the scallops.

Wrap in Bacon

After marinating the scallops, remove them from the fridge.

Place one of the scallops onto the end of a strip of bacon like so..

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Hold the bacon onto the scallop while you give it a full roll.

Let the bacon overlap about ½ inch and cut it off.

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Push an extra long toothpick through the overlap and out of the other side of the scallop to hold everything securely.

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Repeat the wrapping and securing on all of the scallops.

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Season Scallops

Place the scallops on a rack or a cookie sheet (this makes it easy to carry them out to the smoker)

Sprinkle a good dose of my Texas rub  onto the outside of the scallops and the bacon before calling them “ready to smoke”.

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Get the Smoker Ready

It is imperative that these scallops cook at a low temperature to give them time with the smoke and to make sure that they do not get done too quick or overcook.

Set up your smoker for cooking at about 210°F (99°C).

You will need enough smoking wood for about 20-30 minutes of smoke and the rest of the time can be heat alone.

Once the smoker is set up and holding steady at the goal temperature, you are ready to smoke the scallops.

Smoking the Scallops

Place the scallops directly on the smoker grate or just place the rack onto the top of the smoker grate if it fits your particular smoker.

I only added smoke for about 20 minutes but you could easily add smoke for a longer time or the full hour as long as your smoke is nice and thin like it should be and not the huge white billowing smoke.

I checked my scallops at 45 minutes and they were not quite there so I let them continue. At about 55 minutes most of them had reached 145°F (63°C). I removed the ones that were 145°F (63°C) and left the others for a few more minutes before taking them out of the smoker.

This is where the Thermapen comes in handy.. it reads in about 2 seconds and you can easily check things like this quickly to make sure every piece is perfectly done before removing it from the smoker.

Thermapen Mk4 Orange

Serve the Scallops

These are fancy and I can see these being served with any number of sides at a  family dinner or get together. We were in test mode and ate them right off the rack.. amazed at the flavor and wishing we had made twice as many.

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Notes/Comments:
  • Pick out or request scallops that are all the same size and thickness for best results.
  • Be sure to use thin sliced bacon. You can also use the precooked bacon or partially cook your own but it does not wrap as well and the presentation suffers in my opinion.
  • Do not overcook scallops.
  • Scallops can be a little pricey so use them as small appetizer rather than the entree if you are trying to be frugal.
  • The best way to eat these bacon wrapped smoked scallops is like sushi.. put the whole thing in your mouth at one time for the full effect.
5 from 1 vote

Bacon Wrapped Smoked Sea Scallops

If you thought scallops were good cooked in other ways, then try them smoked and wrapped in bacon and you may find that you don't want them prepared any other way.
Prep Time1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place scallops in ziptop bag with ¼ cup olive oil and 1 TBS of Jeff's original rub
  • Seal bag then roll and massage bag gently to fully coat scallops
  • Place bag in fridge for 1 hour to marinate
  • Place scallop onto one end of a thin slice of bacon
  • Wrap bacon around scallop allowing an overlap of about ½ inch
  • Cut bacon to fit perfectly
  • Push toothpick through bacon overlap and all the way through scallop to secure
  • Repeat on all scallops
  • Place bacon wrapped and secured scallops onto bradley rack or cookie sheet
  • Sprinkle Jeff's Texas style rub onto the outside of the wrapped scallops.
  • Place scallops directly onto smoker grate and cook for about 1 hour at 210°F (99°C)
  • Scallops are done when they reach 145°F (63°C) in the center
  • Apply smoke for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour if desired
  • Serve immediately

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Recipe Rating




18 Comments

  1. Most times I like to use prosciutto instead of bacon when wrapping proteins. It cooks faster, still as delicious, and has that scrumptious crispy flavor as well!

  2. 5 stars
    Scallops are amazing. Suggest buying approx 1” diameter. I got 2”, tooK 2 hours and you want the one-bite scallop for the best bacon to scallop ratio.
    Also Jeff, need to add the smoker temp to the print version.

  3. Loved the recipe , I only did one thing differently. After they were done and I took them out of the grill right in to a smoking hot cast iron pan for about 20 seconds then flipped and 20 seconds on the other side. This put a crust on top band bottom of the scalops

  4. OMG, all I can say is “believe Jeff” when he says these are awesome!
    I made these three different ways, using Jeff’s original and Texas rubs and with lemon pepper. I did use apple wood and felt that was a nice compliment to the scallop and bacon. As promised, the scallops melted in your mouth, no toughness at all.
    My order of preference was Texas, original, and lemon pepper. The warden was in the opposite order.
    All were very good and plan to make some for company.
    Looking forward to trying many more of Jeff’s recipes.

  5. Jeff…will be smoking a turkey this year for Thanksgiving using the buttermilk brine and your rub… thought about doing the smoked scallop and bacon appetizer to hold off until turkey is ready. Q: Can I smoke these appetizers during the turkey smoking process without messing anything up with either the appetizers or turkey?

  6. I really like your rub recipe and was wondering how different your Texas recipe is? Do you prefer one over the other for various meats?

    1. Frank, the Texas style recipe is different mainly in that it is not sweet at all. It is made to be only savory. It is slightly more salty than the original rub and can be used as a table seasoning as well.

  7. Mah Man Jeff – I know this isn’t the right place to ask BUT – I am dying to know. You know EVERYTHING about smoking so yer the person I gotta ask…..

    Have you ever had Smoked Pig Wings??? Have you ever tried making from scratch? I have had the wings in restaurants but I wanna make my own – they are not cheap to buy.

    Suggestions???

    1. Kwai, all I can say is that you need to keep an eye on the newsletter. I have been working on these for a few weeks and I will have something ready for you guys and gals very shortly. They are an amazing part of the animal and have been overlooked for so long.

      1. AWESOME!!! Looking forward to it…..I smoked some bacon to make my own bits last weekend…..OH MY GOSH!!! WAY better than that Hormel crap……WAY better.

  8. GOOOOOOOOD RECIPE

    I microwaved my bacon for 4 minutes ahead start and I alao used clarified butter with some bacon grease for added flavor on the scallop instead of olive oil

  9. Thank you for the smoked scallop recipe. I live on Cape Cod and have access to a lot of seafood. I really would like to try smoking a lobster. Can you help me.
    Thank you
    Barry
    PS
    i have created a 3 ring binder with most of your recipes
    Thank you again

    1. I wrote about smoking lobster tails back in December of last year. Here’s the article:

      Smoked Lobster Tails

      You may have to make some slight adjustments if you are smoking the whole thing.. the main thing is that you keep an eye on the temperature of the meat in the tail and don’t overcook it. Just like scallops, it’s perfectly done at 145°F.