Woodfire Smoked Scallops

Ever wondered if you can smoke scallops on your Ninja Woodfire Grill? Spoiler alert: you absolutely can—and the results are next-level delicious.

These Woodfire Smoked Scallops are smoky, tender, and topped with a rich brown butter lemon garlic sauce that’ll have you questioning why you ever cooked scallops any other way.

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Whether you’re prepping an impressive appetizer or leveling up your main course game, this recipe brings a gourmet vibe without any fancy stress.

Woodfire Smoked Scallops

These Woodfire Smoked Scallops are cold-smoked to perfection and finished with a rich brown butter lemon garlic sauce. Simple, impressive, and full of flavor—ideal for appetizers or a main dish.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: ninja woodfire

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Sear: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 3

Calories: 497kcal

Author: Dad

Cost: 30

Equipment

• ▢
  Ninja Woodfire
• ▢
  Ninja Woodfire Flat Top
• ▢
  Saucepan
• ▢
  Whisk

Ingredients

Scallops:

• ▢ 1 lb Large Scallops
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Sea Salt Estimate
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Black Pepper Estimate
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Dad Dust See Note For Recipe
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Avocado Oil Estimate

Brown Butter Lemon Garlic Basil Sauce:

• ▢ 8 tablespoon Unsalted Butter 1 Stick
• ▢ 6 Cloves Garlic Minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ▢ 3 Fresh Basil Leaves
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Sea Salt Adjust to Taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Black Pepper Adjust to Taste

Instructions

• Smoke: Set the Ninja Woodfire to Smoker/CLD/1 Hour. Dry the scallops and then season them with salt, pepper and Dad Dust. Place the scallops in the fryer basket and put it in the Ninja. Smoke for 1 Hour.
• Make the Sauce: Add 1 stick of butter, 4 fresh whole basil leaves and 6 cloves of minced garlic to a cold saucepan. Turn the heat on to medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes until the butter begins to brown and stops foaming. Add 3 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and whisk.
• Sear: After the 1 hour cold smoke is done (the scallops will be around (93F/33C) remove the scallops and set the woodfiire to Grill/HI. No need to use the woodfire setting as we already have enough smoke in the scallops. At this time cook your try color pasta according to the package directions for Aldente. It should be about 10 minutes. Let the ninja preheat for at least 10 minutes. Put a little bit of avocado oil on the flat top and then sear the scallops for 1-2 minutes per side until they are golden brown and read 115F/46C to 120F/49C) on an instant read thermometer. The will continue to cook as they rest and reach a final temp of around 125F/52C.
• Plate & Serve: Place the pasta on a dish. Pour some of the brown butter sauce over it. Place your scallops on top of the pasta and pour the rest of the brown butter sauce over it. Sprinkle some Pecorino Romano cheese on top and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Video

Notes

Dad Dust Recipe:

• 120G Granulated Garlic
• 120G Granulated Onion
• 1 tablespoon MSG

Scallops are best cooked to a final internal temp of 125F/52C to 130F/54C. Just make sure they are firm to the touch and opaque at the center. The recipe has you pull them before that temp to allow for carry over cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 497kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 6033mg | Potassium: 412mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 985IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg

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The process starts with top-quality jumbo sea scallops—shoutout to WildFork Foods for providing these beauties. After a good pat-down to dry them off, the scallops take a cold smoke bath using Applewood pellets for about an hour in the air fry basket. This cold smoke gently infuses them with flavor without cooking them, leaving them primed for a perfect high-heat sear.

But what really makes these Woodfire Smoked Scallops shine is the brown butter lemon garlic basil sauce. It sounds fancy, but it's super easy. Melt some unsalted butter with minced garlic until it hits that nutty brown stage, toss in fresh basil leaves, salt, pepper, and exactly one tablespoon of lemon juice—and you’ve got a sauce that brings brightness, depth, and just the right amount of zing. Drizzle it over the scallops and boom—restaurant-quality seafood from your backyard grill.

Want to take it even further? Serve these scallops with pasta, risotto, or a summer salad. They’re versatile enough to play a starring role in any dinner setting. And trust me, the flavor combo of subtle smoke with the rich, lemony butter sauce will have people going back for seconds.

So yes, you can absolutely cold smoke scallops on a Woodfire grill. And with this recipe, you might never go back to pan-searing alone. They’re smoky, tender, and ridiculously flavorful. Now the only tough question left is: where did the scallop go to borrow money? The prawn shop, of course.

Ingredient and Equipment Links:

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