Ham-Wrapped Scallop Skewers with Lemon Oil
Cured ham around a scallop, two minutes on the grate, lemon oil brushed on before it goes near heat.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 46
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 4 min
- total time
- 19 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Sea scallops | 12 oz | thawed in the cooler, patted dry |
|---|---|---|
| Prosciutto or other dry-cured ham | 4 oz | sliced thin, torn into strips |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Lemon | 1 | a whole lemon travels fine unrefrigerated |
| Black pepper | to taste | |
| Skewers | 4 | soak wooden ones in water first |
Method
- Get a bed of coals going, or set the grate over a fire that has burned down. Flames will scorch the ham before the scallops are done.
- Blot every scallop dry with a paper towel. Wet scallops steam instead of searing.
- Wrap each one in a strip of ham and thread it onto the skewer through the seam so the wrap cannot unroll. Four or five per skewer.
- Squeeze the lemon into the oil, add pepper, and stir. Brush the skewers on all sides.
- Lay them on the grate. About two minutes a side. The ham crisps and the scallops turn from translucent to opaque all the way through.
- Pull them off as soon as the centers are opaque. Scallops go rubbery fast.
This is a two-minute cook with a fifteen-minute setup, and the setup is the part that matters. Scallops are mostly water. If they go on the grate wet they release steam, the ham stays limp, and you end up with something boiled in its own liquid. Dry them, wrap them tight, and the cured ham acts as a fat jacket that browns while the scallop inside cooks gently.
The lemon goes into the oil rather than onto the finished skewer. Acid on the raw surface helps the oil cling and season, and lemon juice squeezed over hot seafood at the table just runs off into the fire. This is car-camping food: scallops need a cold cooler and get eaten the first night out. Nothing here reheats well, so cook what you will finish.
Packing
Scallops ride in a sealed bag at the bottom of the cooler on ice, and get cooked the first night. The ham, oil, lemon, and skewers live in the dry box.
Variations
- No cooler and no fresh scallops: shrimp from a shelf-stable pouch, wrapped the same way, works on the grate in about a minute.
- A pinch of smoked paprika in the oil covers for the char you lose over a weak fire.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/2-minute-bbq-scallop-skewers