I’m always looking for new ways to enhance flavor of scallops. If you love bacon and cream, then try out this recipe!

  • 1 pound of bay scallops, cleaned with muscle removed (this is the small white chunk on the side of each scallop; the muscle gets chewy if you cook it)
  • 1 pack of bacon, cut into small bite-sized pieces
  • 1 TBSP grassfed butter
  • 1 cup (16 TBSP) of heavy whipping cream, ideally from grass-fed cows
  • 1/2 cup of shaved parmesan cheese
  • Pink Sea salt, black pepper, dried chives
  1. Prepare the scallops. Rinse them, remove the muscle, and dry them on paper towels. Get as much liquid out as possible. Generously sprinkle on salt and pepper, then set aside.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and set it aside (on paper towels to drain) for later.
  3. Transfer about 75% of the bacon grease to another large skillet and heat the pan on low heat. You’ll use this pan later for the scallops.
  4. In the original bacon skillet (with 25% of the bacon grease), add the butter, cream and parmesan cheese. Reduce heat to medium. Stir frequently and let the liquid reduce by about half so it thickens up. Once thick, reduce heat to low to keep warm. Stir back in the bacon. Taste and add a little salt/pepper if you need to.
  5. As soon as the sauce above is almost ready, turn the heat up on the 2nd skillet (with the bacon fat) to medium-high. As soon as the pan is extremely hot, add the scallops in a single layer. If your pan is not big enough, do this in batches. Let the scallops cook untouched for a minute. After a minute, toss the pan to flip the scallops, and stir around for another 30 seconds to help the heat get to the other side of each one. Bay scallops don’t take much to cook and you don’t want to overook them or they get chewy. Immediately transfer the scallops to a plate with a slotted spoon (leave the liquid in the pan).
  6. Pour sauce over the plate of scallops, sprinkle on chives, and enjoy!

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Each serving is approximately: 486 calories, 7g carbs, 37g fat (20 of which are saturated), 36g protein

Nutritional value can vary based on what brand of bacon you use. I used greenfield uncured applewood smoked bacon.