Pessagno Winery Grilled Skewered Sea Scallops

Pair these plump grilled scallops with a lovely glass of Pessagno Winery's Pinot Noir.

Servings: 4-8 as appetizers

Cook Time: 15 minutes, plus 1 - 2 hour brining

Pair With: Pessagno Winery’s Pinot Noir from the Central Avenue Vineyard.

Source: Recipe and photo courtesy Gus & Kathleen Gustat and Pessagno Winery.

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients For the Scallop Brine:
8 large sea scallops
1/2 cup sugar
/4 cup kosher salt
2 cups cool water

Ingredients For the Grilling Sauce:
1/2 cup garlic olive oil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)
*optional--8 pieces of bacon, just cooked until soft, each piece long enough to wrap around one scallop

DIRECTIONS

Directions For the Scallop Brine:
Rinse the scallops. Remove the small attachment foot (this will peel off by hand and needs to be removed; it will be VERY tough if the scallop is cooked with this on).

Prepare a brine for the raw scallops by mixing the sugar, kosher salt and cool water in a large bowl until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Put the scallops into the brine and place the bowl into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Use the short dowel-shaped skewers if you can, or short bamboo skewers, if that is all you can obtain. Allow 2 bamboo skewers or 1 dowel-skewer for each scallop. Soak the skewers in water for 1-2 hours.

Directions For the Grilling Sauce and Grilling:
Combine the grilling sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside until you are ready to begin grilling

Drain, rinse well, and pat dry each scallop. Skewer each scallop. If you are using bacon, wrap the bacon around the circumference of each scallop and secure the end with the skewer. Let the scallops come to room temperature (about 30 minutes) while heating the grill to 400-500 degrees (a hot grill). Note: use a small-holed grill plate so that the food does not fall through the grates.

Brush each skewered scallop liberally with the sauce. Grill each scallop 3-4 minutes per side (depending on the grill and the size of your scallops) until just cooked through, do not overcook.

Pile the finished skewers of scallops attractively on a platter and serve.

 

 

 

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Recipe Courtesy Of

Pessagno Winery

Pessagno Winery fulfills the 20-year dream of Winemaker Stephen Pessagno to produce limited quantities of exclusive luxury wines from prestigious single vineyards throughout Monterey and San Benito Counties.