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Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Scallops Recipe – these scallops wrapped in bacon and topped with brown sugar is the most delicious bacon wrapped scallop recipe ever!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
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Easy Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon Scallops
There is no appetizer I love more than bacon wrapped scallops – the buttery seafood flavor paired with crunchy, salty bacon and a light, sweet glaze is always one of my favorite ways to start a dinner or a party!
After years of making these delicious scallops, I created a method to ensure the perfect crunchy bacon without overcooking the scallop – this recipe will get you the perfect, crave-worthy results you are looking for, every time!
Bacon Wrapped Scallops Ingredients
To make these scallops, we will need the following ingredients:
- Bacon. Bacon’s smoky, meaty, rich flavor is a delicious compliment for the lightly sweet flavor of scallops, making this dish hearty and delicious.
- Butter. Butter is essential in this dish to add a rich, creamy flavor to our scallops and help the scallops from sticking to the pan. If you don’t have butter on hand, you can use olive oil.
- Scallops. Use large, high quality scallops that are fresh or fully thawed, and do not have a fishy smell. Scallops are a light, mild flavor shellfish with a springy texture and almost sweet flavor that is very butter-like.
- Garlic powder. Garlic powder enhances the rich, hearty flavor of bacon and adds complexity to the brown sugar glaze, adding a pungent, addictive quality to our recipe that will leave you wanting more – and won’t burn or turn acrid like raw garlic when pan searing at a high heat.
- Brown sugar. Brown sugar has a rich, molasses like flavor and melts to turn sticky, creating a lovely glaze for scallops that balances the salty bacon flavor and enhances the lightly sweet scallop flavor.
- Ginger. A bit of ginger gives this recipe a bright, strong kick and bit of heat to add complexity and balance.
How to Make Scallops Wrapped in Bacon
Once you’ve gathered the ingredients, we will follow this process:
- Prep. Pat scallops dry with a paper towel. In a large pan, start to crisp bacon. Cook bacon until golden brown – but still soft and pliable. In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, and garlic and then sprinkle generously over scallops. Wrap each scallop with 1/2 bacon strip and secure by pushing a toothpick through the bacon and scallop. In another small bowl, mix brown sugar and ginger. Sprinkle brown sugar and ginger mixture all over scallop, but reserve much of the sugar and gigner to sprinkle after the scallops flip once.
- Sear. Heat butter in large pan until foamy and melted. Add scallops to pan and cook on medium high heat. Flip after 5-6 minutes, sprinkle with more sugar and ginger, and continue repeating steps until scallops are cooked.
- Serve. Serve immediately.
Bacon Wrapped Scallops Recipe Tips & Tricks
Scallops should have no fishy smell. Scallops, like shrimp, should be light, crisp, fresh – without a fishy smell or tough texture. If your scallops smell super fishy before cooking them, they might not be very fresh (scallops will have a bit of a fishy smell, moreseo than shrimp, but it should be at most very faint.) Despite having the freshest scallops, it still can be very easy to mess them up – which actually makes any fishy flavor stronger!
Brown well. Scallops taste best with a little bit of charring from the pan – and starting with scallops that aren’t super wet are a great way to be sure you’ll have a crisp, crunchy crust on the outside of your scallop – giving it the perfect flavor!
Use butter or olive oil. Scallops can stick like nobody’s business – so I am always sure to use a little butter (I prefer the buttery flavor with sweet scallop meat) when cooking scallops – you could use the bacon grease from pre-cooking your bacon, but I prefer a bit of butter to avoid being too bacon-y.
Cook hot and fast. Scallops get very tough when cooked slowly or too long – for the most flavorful scallop meat, cook them hot, and quickly.
Partially pre-cook bacon. For bacon wrapped scallops, I think pre-cooking bacon part of the way is essential for the best scallops that aren’t tough – and bacon that is evenly rendered.
Don’t overcook. Don’t overcook scallops – not only do overcooked scallops taste fishy – they are often tough and hard to chew, too.
Watch scallop’s color. For perfect scallops, brown each side, and watch the middle of the scallop. When the scallop turns bright white and opaque it is cooked.
Defrost properly. If you live somewhere you can’t get fresh scallops (like me in Northern Colorado), never fear – you can still grab frozen scallops and have a delicious dish – if you let the scallops defrost properly. These tips will help you maximize your flavor when cooking previously frozen scallops.
- If possible, break apart any scallops that might be stuck together (don’t pull too hard, but if they will come apart, separate before defrosting or they will defrost unevenly.)
- Set scallops on a dish, on top of paper towels.
- Cover defrosting scallops with another paper towel and set in fridge for 12-24 hours, until scallops look jiggly and are soft to the touch, not frozen.
Bacon is one of the most hands-down delicious things on earth – but bacon that is soggy, limp, and hasn’t been rendered is not good – but getting bacon cooked perfectly without drying out scallops can be a bit tricky!
Bacon browns and crisps up at a much slower pace than what it takes to cook scallops, which need to be cooked very hot and very fast to keep their clean, sweet flavor and springy soft texture.
To combat this, I pre-cook my bacon – so it is browned, but still pliable and soft. I like to think of cooking the bacon to 3/4 the way cooked – so it will just need to crisp up as your scallops cook.
After I pre-brown some bacon, I will then wrap it around the scallop and secure it with a toothpick.
The bacon isn’t done yet, but this will dramatically reduce cook time so you’re not forced to dry out your scallops which will give them a fishier flavor and tough texture.
Variations on Scallops with Bacon
- Maple Glaze: Use maple syrup, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard for a simple glaze. Brush the scallops with the glaze before wrapping them in bacon. Drizzle some more glaze on top before baking.
- Garlic Herb Butter: Use butter, garlic, parsley, thyme, and lemon juice for a simple marinade. Melt the butter and mix in the garlic and herbs. Toss the scallops in the mixture before wrapping them in bacon.
- Spicy Sriracha Honey: Make a glaze with Sriracha, honey, and lime juice. Mix the ingredients and brush over the bacon-wrapped scallops before cooking.
- Teriyaki: Make a glaze with teriyaki sauce, ginger, and sesame seeds. Marinate the scallops in teriyaki sauce and ginger before wrapping them in bacon. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
- Cajun Spice: Make a quick rub from cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, and lemon zest. Coat the scallops with seasoning before wrapping them in bacon. Sprinkle with lemon zest after baking.
- Pineapple Teriyaki: Make a marinade with pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, and scallions. Marinate the scallops in a mixture of pineapple juice and teriyaki sauce. Garnish with sliced scallions.
- Mustard and Brown Sugar: Dijon mustard, brown sugar, and black pepper. Spread mustard over the scallops, sprinkle with sugar and pepper, then wrap with bacon.
Recipe FAQ’s
If you want to use a keto swap for sugar, go for it! We tested this recipe with keto brown sugar replacements and they were all fabulous.
Scallops cook fast, but crunchy bacon doesn’t – so we’re parcooking bacon a bit before wrapping scallops so you can have crunchy bacon and perfect tender, delicious scallops.
Scallops are best when eaten fresh after cooking, however you can flash-freeze them and serve later, or store in the refrigerator for up to one day – however, they will have the best flavor and texture if eaten right away.
What to Serve With Bacon Wrapped Scallops
Bacon wrapped scallops are a delicious, easy appetizer that are great at dinner parties, alongside Bacon Raspberry Cheese Bites, The Best Easy No Knead Bread, and some Easy Bread Dip alongside it.
We love to serve scallops with Pan Fried Ribeye Steaks and Air Fryer Longhorn Steakhouse Parmesan Crusted Steak, with a Pear and Goat Cheese Salad on the side!
For more easy seafood dishes you’ll love, be sure to check out our seafood recipes below:
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Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Scallops Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon, *approximately – used 1/2 slice of bacon for each scallop.
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 lb scallops
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pepper, fresh cracked
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- Pat scallops dry with a paper towel.
- In a large pan, start to crisp bacon. Cook bacon until golden brown – but still soft and pliable.
- In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, and garlic and then sprinkle generously over scallops.
- Wrap each scallop with 1/2 bacon strip and secure by pushing a toothpick through the bacon and scallop.
- In another small bowl, mix brown sugar and ginger.
- Sprinkle brown sugar and ginger mixture all over scallop, but reserve much of the sugar and gigner to sprinkle after the scallops flip once.
- Heat butter in large pan until foamy and melted.
- Add scallops to pan and cook on medium high heat. Flip after 5-6 minutes, sprinkle with more sugar and ginger, and continue repeating steps until scallops are cooked.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wondering if anyone or you’ve ever baked these? Trying to not be tied up in the kitchen during my daughters bday party. Or can I wrap the scallops with the bacon, throw them in the fridge, then pan fry them closer to party time?
I have! My tips are to lightly brown the bacon first (don’t crisp it, but lightly brown so it’s not overcooked in oven) and pre-heat your baking sheet or oven-safe pan so the scallops can brown a bit. Just be sure to not overcook.
Yummy/ yummy/ yummy!!!