OUT WEST: Food & Lifestyle

seafood

Grilled Scallop, Bacon & Tomato Kabobs

by Leave a Comment

Grilled Scallop, Bacon & Tomato Kabobs can be on your table in 30 minutes! Seriously…it only looks fancy. Sweet, buttery scallops, smoky bacon and juicy tomato grilled on a kabob stick and placed ever so elegantly on a bed of fresh corn and fettuccine. It’s what THIS mom wants for Mother’s Day.

Buttery grilled scallops, smokey bacon and juicy tomatoes on a kabob

When I think about what I would want to eat for Mother’s Day it would be fresh seafood like these Grilled Scallop, Bacon & Cherry Tomato Kabobs. Brunch is nice, but I prefer a nice elegant dinner on the patio with my family. Sitting outside, sipping on wine and enjoying each other’s company around a simple dinner that has the appeal of fine dining.

Scallops take only a few minutes to grill and bring the elegance to the table. Surrounded by bacon that adds a subtle smoky flavor and the tomato comes in with the bright, juicy burst of flavor. Boil some fettucine, sauté a little corn and 30 minutes later you’re enjoying dinner. Even the smoked chile butter is easier than it sounds. You can melt butter, right? Yes!! So, fire up the grill and celebrate with mom.

Print

Grilled Scallop, Bacon & Cherry Tomato Kabob

Buttery grilled scallops with smokey bacon and juicy tomato served on a kabob and drizzled with smoked chile butter
Course Main Course
Cuisine Seafood
Keyword chile butter, Grilled scallops, Seafood kabobs
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Kabobs:

  • 8 kabob sticks if using wooden kabob sticks make sure to soak first
  • 16 sea scallops patted dry
  • 8 slices bacon cut in 1 inch pieces and par cooked
  • 16 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Smoked Chile Butter

  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 pinches red chile flakes
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 clove garlic minced

Corn

  • 4 ears fresh corn cut off the cob
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • salt and pepper

Fettuccine

  • ½ lb fettuccine cooked to package directions with butter and salt and pepper

Garnish

  • Lemon

Instructions

  • Assemble kabobs with two scallops each, two cherry tomatoes each and a piece of bacon between every piece of scallop and tomato
  • Drizzle each kabob with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
  • Grill kabobs ( about 2-3 minutes each side, opaque and slightly firm to touch, but not hard) and make corn and smoked chile butter while kabobs are on grill

Corn:

  • In a saucepan over medium heat cook corn kernels in butter, season with salt and pepper

Smoked Chile Butter:

  • In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt butter with red chile flakes, smoked paprika and garlic. Keep warm until kabobs are ready
  • Remove kabobs from grill, drizzle with smoked chile butter, sprinkle with corn and serve with fettuccine that has been tossed in butter and S & P
  • Garnish with lemon

Grilled Halibut in a Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

by Leave a Comment

First of the season, buttery, Grilled Halibut in a Roasted Tomatillo Sauce with crispy fried onions is a perfect reason to fire up that grill.

Buttery grilled halibut in a roasted tomatillo sauce with crispy fried onions

Around here, first of the season halibut is quite the catch. We look forward to fresh seafood here in the Pacific NW, mostly because we are totally spoiled with having access year round to the best fish. Halibut, though, is the creme de la creme. It’s meaty, buttery and tastes great with very little effort at all, BUT it tastes especially great when grilled and served in a roasted tomatillo sauce and topped with crispy fried onions.

Want to make this recipe even easier for your weeknight meal plan? Grab some french fried onions from the grocery instead of making your own. Really, that’s the hardest part of this entire recipe and if you already have some, then you’ve got this in the bag!

My favorite memories are visiting my dad in Alaska where he had a logging camp. He and my brother would take me out fishing for halibut. They are some strong fish for sure. My dad kept a special gun on the boat just for shooting the big ones that we reeled in. these guys can easily weigh twice as much as the average person. That’s a lot of meat! But, there’s something so satisfying as eating something that you worked hard to catch and prepare.

Ingredients:

  • Halibut Fillets – Splurge for fresh – it’s worth it
  • Tomatilllos – Mexican husk tomato. Found at most grocery stores. Green with a paper husk. Has a vibrant, tart citrusy flavor.
  • Yellow Onion – Look for firm onions with no bruising.
  • Jalapeno – Fresh green pepper with moderate heat.
  • Chili Powder – A blend of spices including toasted chili peppers, cumin, oregano, garlic and salt.
  • Garlic Powder – Gives a mellower garlic flavor than raw garlic.
  • Cumin – A warm, earthy spice that gives depth of flavor.
  • Pantry Items – Olive oil, sugar, heavy cream, milk, vinegar, corn starch, salt and pepper.

Preparation

  1. Make the roasted tomatillo sauce first by oven roasting tomatillos, onion and jalapeno until charred, then blending with sugar, water and cream.
  2. Prepare crispy fried onions by soaking onions for 15 minutes in milk and vinegar, then toss in cornstarch and fry in oil until golden brown.
  3. Combine chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
  4. Fire up the grill, drizzle halibut with olive oil and season with spice blend. Grill flesh side down first until opaque half way through the thickness of the fillet, then carefully flip and repeat on other side.
  5. Place a ladle of roasted tomatillo sauce on plate, halibut on top and garnish with crispy fried onions.
Halibut in roasted tomatillo sauce with crispy fried onions
Print Recipe

Grilled Halibut in a Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

Meaty, buttery grilled halibut in a roasted tomatillo sauce with crispy fried onions
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Seafood
Keyword: grilled fish, halibut, pnw cuisine
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Halibut

  • 2 lb halibut fillets (4 fillets)
  • olive oil

Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

  • 6-8 tomatillos outer husk removed
  • 1/2 large yellow onion quartered
  • 1 jalapeno halved, seeds removed
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream

Crispy Fried Onions

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
  • 1 cup corn starch
  • cooking oil for frying
  • salt

Spice Blend for Halibut

  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Instructions

Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

  • Place tomatillos, yellow onion and jalapeno on a sheet pan and broil until charred.  Remove from oven, let cool, then place in blender with remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Crispy Fried Onions

  • Combine milk and vinegar in a bowl.  Soak onions for about 15 minutes.  Drain and then toss onions in corn starch. 
  • Heat cooking oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.  Fry onions until golden, remove and drain on wire rack or paper towels.  Season with salt. Set aside until ready to serve.

Spice Blend for Halibut

  • Combine all ingredients together.

Halibut

  • Prepare grill. Drizzle olive oil over fillets. Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp spice blend over each fillet. Don’t over season. You will have leftover spice blend. 
  • Grill halibut, flesh side down first. You’ll know it’s ready to flip when it turns opaque about half way up the thickness of the fillet. Flip and repeat on the other side until fully opaque.
  • Plating:  Place a large spoonful of roasted tomatillo sauce on plate, place halibut fillet on top and top with crispy fried onions.
    Optional garnish:  cilantro, radish, corn and lime wedges.

Find These Products on Amazon:

“OUT WEST: Food & Lifestyle is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.”

Similar Recipes

  • Seared scallops with Guajillo Mango Sauce
  • Cod fillet lightly dusted in cornmeal, pan fried with black eyed peas in a tomatillo broth.
  • Grilled salmon with fresh corn, cilantro and cotija cheese