Bacon-wrapped scallops are among those snacks/appetizers that are always popular, never left over and easy to make.
Despite this, the only time I used to ever have them was at large, semi-formal to formal occasions (anniversary parties, cocktail receptions, holiday events). In fact, I found that I had never had any that were homemade. They had always been catered or bought ready-prepared only requiring reheating. Yep, to me these were “fancy” finger foods.
However, I have found that these delicious treats do not have to be reserved for only the highest occasions. They are really nice to have when having a few family and friends over to watch the game, to play games, or watch a movie. Thus, they make a nice Superbowl Party food.
The cost of sea scallops may be the reason for my perception that these were only a rare, special occasion item. They are not cheap, but there are things you can do to keep the cost down.
They do vary in price with the market. The price drops some in the late summer, according to FishChoice. However, this is not much help if you want them for a Superbowl Party. The good news is the price is not high because they are rare. They are no longer over-fished in the Atlantic, according to the National Marine Fisheries Services.
The cost per pound is also lower if the scallops are smaller. Since you are going to want them to be fairly small for this recipe, you do not have to pay more per pound for larger ones.
Unfortunately (actually it was fortunate), the only scallops my local fish market had recently were very large ones…U10’s. The U10 means that it takes less than 10 (or 10) to make a pound. We purchased 6 and they were about 3/4 of a pound!
They were also dry scallops, hence I did not pay for a lot for water. I could tell they were dry because they were a pinkish, off-white color. They did not have much liquid. The half-gallon container they were still in said they were dry. They were kind of sticky when I got them out to prep them. Finally, they did not shrink much when I cooked them. (For more info on dry v. wet, see my seared scallops post).
They were not labeled as “diver” scallops, though. The diver scallops label usually means they have not had any chemical treatment and also can mean that they were hand-harvested (albeit, less often). Thus, I assumed that my scallops may have washed in a phosphate solution.
I rinsed them (I always rinse them) and let them dry on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. While they were under the running water, I removed the side muscles.
They can be served plain or with a dip.
I ended up only using three of the six scallops purchased to make a dozen very large bacon wrapped scallops. The three of us had them for our entree for dinner one evening. They were very tasty and very filling 🙂