Turkey Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

Bacon-wrapped in anything, be it hot dogs, asparagus, steak, or even bacon... is a taste-bud orgasm. Bacon-wrapped scallops are not an exception. However, in our current crusade to eat more healthy, Ash and I have taken to having some of Trader Joe's Uncured Turkey Bacon around at all times. It's not the real thing, but it sure delivers a punch of protein.

Scallops are also a pretty good source of protein for minimal calories as well. We made these the other night for a protein-packed dinner to offset a rigorous day of working out. I was lazy and could have done a better job wrapping the scallops but they tasted fantastic.

I made way too many for one dinner and ended up with a nice lunch the next day. These were just as good cold for lunch as they were just sizzling off the pan. If you want to pair this with wine, a lightly sweet wine, such as a Riesling or Gewurztraminer would be fantastic, although I prefer these varietals more on the dry side. As for beer, I would enjoy this with a good Dark Ale.


Ingredients

6 slices of turkey bacon, sliced in half (of course you could substitute the real thing if you want...)
12 medium sized scallops (defrosted if using frozen)
3 tbs butter, unsalted
5 cloves garlic, toasted then crushed (cannot have enough garlic!)
pinch of cayenne
pepper
salt (optional, Ash and I have cut salt out wherever we can and have not noticed much of a difference)
olive oil
toothpicks


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a glass cooking dish. I use olive oil. Make sure to use a dish that can fit however many scallops you are making.
3. Cut the bacon slices to fit around the scallops when wrapped tightly.
4. Note: If using real bacon, skip to step 5, if using turkey bacon read on. Turkey bacon takes some time to cook properly to get a nice crispy texture. I would recommend cooking the turkey bacon half-way according to the directions. For Trader Joe's Uncured Turkey Bacon, that is baking for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. This will lead to a much more crispy piece of turkey bacon, that is if you like your bacon on the crispy side.
5. In a small frying pan, lightly toast the garlic with a small amount of olive oil over medium-high heat.
6. Melt the butter in a small bowl, adding the garlic, cayenne, pepper, salt (if using) and mix well.
7. Dip the scallops in the butter sauce and wrap a piece of bacon around each scallop and secure well with a toothpick. I did not wrap tightly enough and the whole thing came undone during cooking.
8. Place the scallops on the baking dish and cook for about 10  minutes. 
9. Remove the scallops from the oven and set aside for a moment. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan on high heat and sear the scallops to a desired texture/color. Do not overcook the scallops or you will be chewing for days...
10. Serve immediately and enjoy.