Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Nanjing, China
      Weekend Trip to Nanjing China
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
      Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
    • Wakaran Hong Kong
      Wakaran Wan Chai
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    Home » Recipe » Appetizer

    Sous Vide Scallops (bacon-wrapped scallops)

    Published: Aug 18, 2010 · Modified: Oct 27, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    _1040580
    Scallops are tricky.

    When done right, they are sweet, succulent, and melt-in-your-mouth tender. When done improperly, at worse they are rubbery, fishy, and even sandy!

    The key, of course, is to purchase high quality scallops and not overcook them. The first part is relatively easy once you've found a good source for seafood. I picked up these gorgeous plump and fresh scallops from Whole Foods. They have no hint of fishiness. Instead, they smelled clean and almost sweet - the way scallops should smell.

    And the second part?
    _1040578
    I decided to try Sous Vide.  Could I achieve that perfect texture with this precise cooking method?

    "Sous vide" literally means "under vacuum" in French. Sort of a misnomer, this method of cooking actually involves two parts. Food is first sealed under vacuum in a plastic bag and then cooked in a water bath set at a very precise temperature.

    Sous vide cooking has a lot of interesting benefits. First, because you can precisely control the temperature of your water bath, you won't overcook your food. This is great for restaurant cooks who can't always predict exactly when something needs to be served. You can keep a steak at 130° F (medium rare) for hours in that water bath and take it out to sear just moments before the guests arrive.

    You can rig your own sous-vide system with a magic cooker, beer cooler, or a cast iron pot. I've tried the magic cooker method, with great success. Alternatively, if you're not the tinkering type, you can use a professional unit, such as the Sous Vide Supreme.
    _1040566
    Recently, the folks at Sous Vide Supreme were kind enough to send me a unit to try out. Sous Vide Supreme is probably the first precision thermal water bath marketed towards home kitchens. Priced at $449.95, it's still a bit steep compared to other kitchen appliances, though it's a lot cheaper than the commercial ones, which start at around twice as much.

    Since I had already tried making sous vide steak and salmon, I thought scallops would be a natural next step. I had seen many recipes that suggested using a lower temperature (125 °F (52 °C)), but I was cooking chicken at the same time, and thus wondered whether I could throw them all in one water bath.
    _1040583-2
    I filled two different bags: one with bacon-wrapped scallops, thyme, and shallots; the other with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. I stuck them both in the Sous Vide Supreme and set it at 140° F / 60 °C for 40 minutes.
    _1040586
    When the timer beeped at me, I took them out, dried them with paper towels, and briefly seared them on a hot cast iron pan just long enough to get a nice sear. Try to make this a brief as possible - like 30 seconds! Remember, your meat is already perfectly cooked!

    Serve!
    _MG_3973
    They were both fantastic. I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that I bought beautiful scallops that had a wonderful sweet taste. But the sous vide method made it easy to cook them to a perfect consistency. Not a single scallop was overcooked. They were soft, buttery, and all around delicious.

    _MG_3980

    Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Thyme and Shallots
    8 scallops (preferably large, diver scallops)
    8 slices of bacon
    1-2 T shallots, chopped
    thyme leaves (from 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme)

    Wrap each scallop with one slice of bacon. Put the scallops in a single layer in the vacuum bag. Add thyme and chopped shallots. Seal under vacuum in a plastic bag according to the manufacturer's instructions (I used Foodsaver).

    *For regular scallops, just season with salt and pepper and seal them in the bag*

    For medium rare scallops (preferred), cook at 125 °F (52 °C) in a water bath for about 20-40 minutes.
    For medium scallops (still delicious), cook at 140 °F (60 °C) in a water bath for about 20-40 minutes.
    The benefit of cooking at 140 °F is that you can cook it with other items (such as chicken breast) that need to be cooked at that temperature at the same time.

    Remove the scallops from the bag, dry well with paper towels, and briefly sear in a pre-heated grill pan on high heat just until nicely browned. Serve!

    Related posts
    Sous Vide Salmon
    Sous Vide Steak

    Great Resources
    A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking

    Disclaimer
    As a food blogger, time to time I receive products from vendors to try out, to review, etc. The Sous Vide Supreme machine was sent to me by Sous Vide Supreme so that I could use the machine and take photos of the process and final products. The views expressed in the posts are completely my own.

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Appetizer

    • Miso Eggplant
      Miso Glazed Eggplant -Nasu Dendaku
    • Japanese Potato Salad
      Japanese Potato Salad
    • Instant Pot Chinese Pumpkin Cake [Pressure Cooker] Plus VIDEO!
    • Nasi Lemak - Malaysia's national dish

    Recent Posts

    • Weekend Trip to Nanjing China June 20, 2025
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong June 17, 2025
    • Wakaran Wan Chai June 15, 2025
    • Godenya Hong Kong (revisited) June 12, 2025
    • The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star) June 6, 2025
    • Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai June 2, 2025
    • Always Joy Hong Kong May 29, 2025
    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen