Bacon Wrapped Smoked Sea Scallops
Plump sea scallops marinated in olive oil and rub, wrapped in thin bacon and slowly smoked over hickory to a juicy 145°F — a fancy, sushi-style appetiser.
⏱️ Prep: 90 min🍳 Cook: 60 min
Ingredients
| 12 | sea scallops | |
| 1/4 cup | 60 ml | olive oil (for marinating) |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Jeff's original rub (or seafood rub) |
| 1 lb | 455 g | thin-sliced bacon |
| — | Texas rub, for seasoning |
Instructions
- Marinate: Place the scallops in a gallon zip-top bag and pour in about 1/4 cup olive oil. Roll the bag gently to coat.
- Add about a tablespoon of the original rub, seal and roll gently to coat. Refrigerate about 1 hour — the rub and oil form a light marinade that complements the scallops.
- Wrap in bacon: Remove the scallops from the fridge. Place a scallop on the end of a strip of bacon, roll it up so the bacon overlaps about 1/2 inch, and cut off the excess.
- Push an extra-long toothpick through the overlap and out the other side of the scallop to hold everything securely. Repeat for all the scallops.
- Season: Set the wrapped scallops on a rack or cookie sheet and sprinkle a good dose of Texas rub over the outside of the scallops and bacon.
- Set up the smoker: Bring the smoker to about 210–220°F (100–105°C). Have enough smoking wood for 20–30 minutes of smoke — the rest of the cook can be heat alone. Keep the smoke thin and blue, not thick and white.
- Smoke: Place the scallops directly on the grate (or set the rack on top). Add smoke for about 20 minutes (up to the full hour if you like). Check at 45 minutes; most will reach 145°F at about 55 minutes. Pull each one as it hits 145°F so none overcook.
- Serve as an appetiser. Tip: eat each bacon-wrapped scallop whole, sushi-style, for the full effect. Use thin bacon (not precooked) so it wraps neatly, and pick scallops of even size and thickness.