Sam's had some big ol' wild-caught sea scallops for a reasonable price, so I thought I'd give this a shot. First, I cooked the bacon roughly halfway in the oven. We typically cook it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees and it's perfect, so I went with 15 minutes at 350.
RAW
AFTER 15 MINUTES
Then I let the bacon cool down by just throwing it in the freezer for a couple of minutes. I didn't want it to start cooking the scallops. Next, I wrapped 'em, one per scallop except for the two small ones got a half strip.
Smoked with 5 chunks of apple and one hickory. Since this was my first time doing this, I actually used the Maverick to track internal temperature, and I think it did a good job. I did a minion start but once the WSM's temperature hit 150 I kept all vents, including the top one, almost completely closed. I'm thinking maybe 1/8 open on each one. Temperature got right around 180 and stayed there. I took the scallops to 130 first and looked, didn't seem ready to me or when I cut into one, so I took them on up to 140. Perfect! Overall smoking time was roughly 45 minutes. Here they are when I opened the grill at 140:
I cooked a couple more strips of bacon and some plain ol' frozen spinach. Sprinkled the bacon in the spinach and it made for a great side. Here's the meal plated:
They were VERY tasty. Next time I think I'll lightly salt the scallops and let the bacon cook a little more in the oven, maybe 20 minutes instead of 15. But I'm not complaining. 'Twas a VERY yummy lunch.
RAW
AFTER 15 MINUTES
Then I let the bacon cool down by just throwing it in the freezer for a couple of minutes. I didn't want it to start cooking the scallops. Next, I wrapped 'em, one per scallop except for the two small ones got a half strip.
Smoked with 5 chunks of apple and one hickory. Since this was my first time doing this, I actually used the Maverick to track internal temperature, and I think it did a good job. I did a minion start but once the WSM's temperature hit 150 I kept all vents, including the top one, almost completely closed. I'm thinking maybe 1/8 open on each one. Temperature got right around 180 and stayed there. I took the scallops to 130 first and looked, didn't seem ready to me or when I cut into one, so I took them on up to 140. Perfect! Overall smoking time was roughly 45 minutes. Here they are when I opened the grill at 140:
I cooked a couple more strips of bacon and some plain ol' frozen spinach. Sprinkled the bacon in the spinach and it made for a great side. Here's the meal plated:
They were VERY tasty. Next time I think I'll lightly salt the scallops and let the bacon cook a little more in the oven, maybe 20 minutes instead of 15. But I'm not complaining. 'Twas a VERY yummy lunch.
But my first ones will be cooked like this!
