Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Hmmm...I feel like I am cheating here, as this dish requires zero preparation. Perhaps I should have bought some scallops and wrapped them with bacon myself to fill up the preparation time. Since there is zero preparation, I am throwing in the spicy mayo.
In fact, half way down the cooking, I really wished that I have prepared them myself. The bacon was too thick comparing to the size of the scallops. I bet they would have come out a lot better if I have made them all by myself. The cost would have been a lot cheaper too (plain fresh scallops in the same size are only $20 per pound, $10 cheaper!!) Once again this proves that homemade is always the best.

Anyway, there is no skill involved in bacon wrapping; although I would have pinned the toothpicks differently myself to make the pan frying process easier...alright that's enough of complaining!

The key for this dish is the cooking temperature! To cook this dish to perfection, the temperature has to be high at all times to sear the scallops quickly and keep them semi cooked in the middle. Use a nice heavy stainless steel pan so that you won't ruin your pan with the high heat. If you have a slow stove, cook the scallops in small batches. During the whole cooking process you should never see any juice coming out from the scallops (that means the temperature is not high enough).

Never fully cook the scallops as they will taste like rubber. So make sure you buy some really fresh ones or try another dish. Where possible, I prefer to buy fresh scallops which are not previously frozen. If you are picking up frozen scallops, look for scallops labeled "chemical free" or "dry packed", which means they were not previously soaked in a phosphate solution to get whiten and add more weight. The phosphate solution will give the scallops a soapy taste. Also, since the bacon is already salty and the scallops have a natural sea saltiness taste, no salt is required for this dish.

Here is the Bacon Wrapped Scallops from my kitchen:

Ingredients

12 fresh bacon wrapped scallops

Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Masago fish roe (see here)

Oil or butter, NO margarine 

Spicy Mayo (see step 5 here)

Bought them during lunch time from St. Lawrence Market and they didn't sweat a bit at dinner time.

How

1. Fresh scallops should not sweat; however, if yours do, pat them dry.
2. Heat up a pan on high heat and add some oil or butter.
3. When the pan starts smoking, add the scallops with the scallop sides down. Cook for 30 seconds then flip them over and cook for another 30 seconds.

   

   See what I mean: toothpicks were just pinned through the scallops which made cooking the sides harder and bacon did not stay put. I would have pinned them differently.

4. Now cook all sides of the bacon. Treat the scallops like dices so there are four bacon sides to cook. Cook for 1 minute per side.

   

   I had to keep sliding the toothpicks from one sides to the others.

5. Remove from heat and remove toothpicks. In order, topped with spicy mayo, masago fish roe, and chopped fresh parsley. Serve hot.