probably one of the easiest dishes to do - a round or two experience and you'll be expert.
dry - yes, if you can get them. look for frozen types in a bag labeled "No Preservatives" - the TSP is a 'preservative' and that's what makes them "wet" (couple other compounds are used - but TSP is the biggiest.)
if you can't get "dry pack" the pat dry thing is extremely important. double pat double dry....
thaw them _completely_ a full 24 hours minimum in the fridge. failure to thaw completely is not a good thing . . .
60 minutes before the dinner bell: pat them dry, lightly salt them, back on a plate in the fridge.
30 minutes before the dinner bell: pull them out of the fridge to the counter to warm up a bit.
they take about 3 minutes per side; so that's six minutes tops per batch, in a 10" pan you can do roughly six - do not crowd
use a heavy pan. cast iron is my fav. preheat to hot.
a pat of butter for flavor - enough to coat the pan bottom - when the water has bubbled out and the butter just starts to brown
pat dry the scallops and put them in the pan. have some oil handy if the pan dries up too much - just a bit - enough to keep the bottom coated.
like all proteins, they'll stick at first - move them _not_ until they crust up a bit. typically you can shake the pan and they'll bust loose.
_listen_ to the pan - adjust the heat so the pop&sizzle remains "consistent" - for scallops-in-a-hot-pan you want a fast / rapid sizzle & pop.
failure to monitor&control the heat can be a problem. if the pan goes cold, you don't get the sear, if it goes too hot, you could get more color in the sear than you wanted, aka "charcoal"
after about 2 mins on the first side, use a sharp pointy carving fork, or ice pick, or skewer, or .... to poke them.
doing the first side you should not feel any firmness until about the lower 1/3.
then flip. the second side will likely take a minute or so less.
poke them - you don't want "firm" all the way through - that'd be 'over done' -
if you have difficulty with the poking & firm thing - sacrifice one scallop, keep cooking it and keep poking it, flip it, cook&poke until you notice 'the dang thing is hard!' - cut and sample/taste. "over doing it" is one easy way to learn how the poke-to-check-doneness thing works.
the general recommendation is to season them right after they come out of the pan.
options vary - drizzle a spoonful of butter out of the pan; fresh pepper, seafood boil, wilted scallion, pan sauce w/ reduce white wine...
