Scallops [Merged Topic]

[Alex]

As AlaMoi mentioned earlier, thaw the scallops in the fridge -- I do it on a rack over a plate or baking dish -- then bring them to room temp before cooking. I use half butter and half grapeseed oil in the pan. Get it very hot but don't burn the butter (obviously). The exact time depends on the heat and your pan, of course, but (again like AlaMoi) I found that U-10 dry scallops take about 2-2½ minutes for the first side and a minute for the second.

 

Here's a truc from Paula Wolfert, which I'm pretty sure is buried in a forum somewhere in the bowels of eGullet: After searing the scallops, while you make the pan sauce, hold them in a 200F oven (the Breville is great for this) on a wire rack over a pan. They'll continue to exude some liquid that otherwise would wind up on the plate and look nasty.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Alex (log)

[scubadoo97]

Thanks AM.   They must indeed be dry by the ingredient list

[HungryChris]

Good advice so far.

Fresh is the best! The key to identify wet scallops is that the wet ones have the appearance of the milky blueness of skim milk. Those are to be avoided regardless of the label. Once you see them you will know. Good dry scallops will have the appearance somewhat like cooked chicken. While pan seared are great, simply shaken in cracker crumbs and quickly (2 minutes is fine) fried in 375 f  peanut oil and served with a good tarter sauce is also a crowd pleaser. Good Luck and please report back, MF5.

HC

Edited February 7, 2016 by HungryChris (log)

[JohnT]

Here is a different take on cooking scallops, which we used to do in the hotel I was at in the late 70's

 

SCALLOP, BACON AND BANANA SATAY

Ingredients:
8 large scallops, with roe (coral)
1 banana, peeled and cut into 8 chunks
8 rashes thin rindless streaky bacon, cut in half
1 courgette (baby marrow), cut into 8 pieces
8 button mushrooms
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
50g butter
15ml olive oil
15ml tomato paste
30ml chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and milled black pepper

 

Method:

1. Set the oven at 220°C. Soak 8 bamboo skewers in water for a few minutes.
2. Wrap scallops and banana pieces in the bacon. Thread onto the skewers with the courgettes and mushrooms, starting with a lemon wedge.
3. Melt together the butter and olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the tomato paste and basil, season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for 3 minutes.
4. Brush the skewers with the sauce and place on an oven tray and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the scallops are cooked and the bacon is crisp. Serve with yellow rice.

Note: You can simply take a scallop and banana piece and wrap it in the bacon and hold it together with a toothpick - baste and cook 7 to 10 minutes as above. Makes a very tasty addition to a  "finger food" platter.

[pufin3]

If you make your own or buy clarified butter you can use a hotter pan which means the scallops will cook through faster.

I add a t of OO oil to the clarified butter. This again increases the allowable heat in the pan.

 This may sound like heresy but sometimes I very very slow poach fresh, or thawed scallops in salted water. No nothing added. I add enough Kosher salt to the water so as to duplicate the saltiness of the seawater the scallops came from.

I do this with all types of seafood. I'm looking for the actual flavor of the seafood.

When the seafood is barely cooked I serve it with a sauce of some sort added to the plate but not on the seafood itself.

One of my favorite non poaching recipes for scallops is from Escoffier. 

'Coquilles Saint-Jacques au Gratin'.

I always add 1/2 t of Pernod to any sauce used with any seafood. It gives the slightest S. France back-note flavor.

 

[rotuts]

there may or may not be a tendon on the scallops, same color but a little more opaque   on one side

 

this easily peels right off.  well worth looking the scallops over pre-cook

 

the tendon has significant 'chew', where as scallops do not,

 

the local Kitty will love them raw.  will chew and chew and chew, and perhaps do a little dance.

[dcarch]

There are other fun ways to sear scallops, and to wrap truly crispy bacon around scallops without overcooking scallops.

 

dcarch

[LindaK]

Dry scallops are always expensive but worth it if they’re within your budget.  I always get dsappointing results with “wet” scallops and have stopped trying to cook them.

 

Scallops are actually really easy to cook, the trick is to not overcook them. An overcooked scallop is a sad, stringy thing.

 

If you’re pan-frying, the advice here about bringing them to room temp, patting them dry, and getting your pan and butter sufficiently hot is critical. You want to get a good sear and not overcook them. Even the big ones cook pretty quickly.

 

A nice thing about cooking scallops is that their relatively straight sides give you a clear view of whether they’re cooked through.  After the first minute or so, take a look at them from the side—as they cook, the flesh closest to the heat will lose its translucence. I flip a scallop when it’s just short of halfway cooked through. The second side will cook through a little faster. You should only have to flip the scallops once.

 

I take them off the heat when there’s still a thin line of translucence in the center. The minute or two it takes to plate everything gives the residual heat time to finish the cooking.  If your preparation requires you to keep them warm for a while so you can do a quick sauce or whatever, it’s especially important not to overcook them in the pan.

 

There are some traditional homestyle seafood dishes here in New England where fish or shellfish are broiled in a sauce of some sort, then usually finished off with some buttery crumbs. A less refined version of the Coquilles St. Jacques that Pufin mentions. They’re tasty but I think harken back to a time when seafood was plentiful and inexpensive.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2016 by LindaK
formatting troubles (log)

[Alex]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

There are other fun ways to sear scallops, and to wrap truly crispy bacon around scallops without overcooking scallops.

 

dcarch

 

OK, I'll bite (figuratively, although literally, too, if you'd be so kind as to make this for me when I'm in DC): How'd you get the heart on there? Do you have a heart-shaped mini-branding iron?

[MetsFan5]

Also who doesn't love bacon wrapped scallops?! But you have the bacon way before the scallops right?

[Shalmanese]

Sear the scallops 90% on one side and just warm the other side up enough to cook it through. If you present them sear side up, most people never notice the other side isn't seared. It's better to have 50% of a good sear than twice the amount of disappointing sear.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Shalmanese (log)

[rotuts]

the Test Kitchen, or the Cooks Country did an episode in recent memory on bacon wrapped scallops on the grill

 

their twist, wether original or 'borrowed' had something to do with doing them on their sides  ( bacon side ) and maybe the bacon was partially cooked before the

 

wrap.

 

I have not tried this as scallops Id appreciate are massively expensive

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=test+kithcne+bacon+wroapped+acallops&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/7118-grilled-bacon-wrapped-scallops

 

worth a look

Edited February 8, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[kayb]

Haven't cooked bacon-wrapped scallops, but in cooking other stuff that the interior would tend to get done before the bacon would, I've had good luck "poaching" the bacon in water in a skillet. Just put it in a dry skillet and when fat starts to render, add a cup or so of water.

[rotuts]

the Tk's did this same sort of thing but in the micro layered in paper towels 

 

the big is worth a peek.

[dcarch]

Alex, yes I have a special branding iron for that.

 

I totally disagree with ATK’s methods and recipe. As you can plainly see, the bacon is nowhere near crispy. As a matter of fact, the bacon in-between the scallops are practically raw.

 

The reasons for wrapping scallops with bacon: Bacon flavor and crispy mouth feel to contrast soft supple scallops. Problem is, by the law of thermal dynamic physics, it is not possible to cook bacon and scallops together without messing up one of them.

 

My method, cook them separate.

 Bake bacon and save the fat and precious few drops of bacon juice which have the most bacon flavor. Why waste them on paper towels?

1. Sous vide scallops to exact doneness, sear and combine bacon and scallops.
2. Get a glass of fine wine and enjoy.

 

dcarch

[johnnyd]

Extra large day boat scallops (about ten to the lb) were going for $23.95/lb here in Portland Maine waterfront.  Smaller ones, about 20/lb went for $18.95/lb.  Scallop corrals are not legally sold in the USA

 

We fry the bacon to where we can easily wrap a scallop without it breaking, then under a broiler for 5min per side on metal skewers.  I also have an on-going experimental basting regimen - last weekend was a maple syrup and whole-grain mustard sauce that gets nice and sticky under the broiler.  Lovely...

[rotuts]

""  Scallop corrals are not legally sold in the USA ""

 

I did njot know that.  tasty they are.

 

what a shame.

 

maybe a bit of Wink-Wink  etc ?

[Josh71]

On 2/8/2016 at 6:12 PM, dcarch said:

Alex, yes I have a special branding iron for that.

 

 

I totally disagree with ATK’s methods and recipe. As you can plainly see, the bacon is nowhere near crispy. As a matter of fact, the bacon in-between the scallops are practically raw.

 

 

The reasons for wrapping scallops with bacon: Bacon flavor and crispy mouth feel to contrast soft supple scallops. Problem is, by the law of thermal dynamic physics, it is not possible to cook bacon and scallops together without messing up one of them.

 

 

My method, cook them separate.

 

 Bake bacon and save the fat and precious few drops of bacon juice which have the most bacon flavor. Why waste them on paper towels?

1. Sous vide scallops to exact doneness, sear and combine bacon and scallops.
2. Get a glass of fine wine and enjoy.

 

 

dcarch

 

Interesting, I would love to buy that kind of iron branding.

 

Where did you buy that?

 

Thanks.

[rotuts]

I like a little flab in my bacon sometimes.

 

to each there own

[paulraphael]

Not really what the OP was asking, but the best scallops I've made/had were cooked sous-vide, after briefly brining in a 5% salt, 3.5% sugar solution. The brine helps firm their texture so they hold their shape—I use this step on a lot of seafood, especially before cooking s.v.

 

Roll the scallops in a couple of layers of plastic wrap (don't use the commercial PVC type that stinks). Cook at 50°C. Time varies by size of the scallops.

 

Chill in an ice water bath (still wrapped). this improves texture and keeps scallops from overcooking when you sear.

 

Dry them. Optionally, dust very lightly with a 1:1.5 baking soda/glucose mix to speed browning. Get a pan very hot. Right before searing dust scallops lightly in wondra flour (also optional). Browning should take 15 to 20 seconds per side.

 

The texture is absolutely insane with this method.

[scubadoo97]

Paul, how are you securing the scallops in the plastic wrap and in the bath?   I've done scallops SV before but it's been a long time.  Pretty sure they weren't frozen since they would have needed to be cleaned of grit and the abductor muscle but probably, lightly sealed in a vac bag and kept submerged.

 

Would love to try your method.  I have everything but the glucose

[kayb]

6 hours ago, paulraphael said:

Not really what the OP was asking, but the best scallops I've made/had were cooked sous-vide, after briefly brining in a 5% salt, 3.5% sugar solution. The brine helps firm their texture so they hold their shape—I use this step on a lot of seafood, especially before cooking s.v.

 

Roll the scallops in a couple of layers of plastic wrap (don't use the commercial PVC type that stinks). Cook at 50°C. Time varies by size of the scallops.

 

Chill in an ice water bath (still wrapped). this improves texture and keeps scallops from overcooking when you sear.

 

Dry them. Optionally, dust very lightly with a 1:1.5 baking soda/glucose mix to speed browning. Get a pan very hot. Right before searing dust scallops lightly in wondra flour (also optional). Browning should take 15 to 20 seconds per side.

 

The texture is absolutely insane with this method.

Can I use this method with frozen scallops? I've ordered some from Schwan's, if they ever show up (delivery had been cancelled/date changed for the THIRD time now....), and I'd love to try this.

 

Also, can you give me an approximate range of times for different sizes?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[MetsFan5]

Thanks for all the responses. I don't cook via sous vide, mainly because I don't have the set up nor the desire to get quite that advanced, but I'm glad others also got ideas as I did with pan searing. 

  Depending on what I order out for tomorrow's early Vday dinner (at www.bluemorel.com) I may go to Whole Foods and try my hand at scallops this weekend. 

 I really appreciate the advice! Especially during Lent. 

Edited February 12, 2016 by MetsFan5 (log)

[Shalmanese]

2 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

Thanks for all the responses. I don't cook via sous vide, mainly because I don't have the set up nor the desire to get quite that advanced

 

Conveniently, hot water heaters in the US are usually calibrated to 120F which is 49C. It's possible to sous vide scallops just by letting the water run fully hot from the tap into a pre-warmed vessel. Scallops shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to cook so just periodically refresh the water and that should be good enough for ghetto sous vide.

[johnnyd]

On 2/8/2016 at 2:56 PM, rotuts said:

""  Scallop corrals are not legally sold in the USA ""

 

I did njot know that.  tasty they are.

 

what a shame.

 

maybe a bit of Wink-Wink  etc ?

 

On occasion, I went diving for scallops here in Maine, and the rule was to shuck each scallop so that the boat ties up with only the mussel meat on board.  Apparently, the corral is way more perishable than the meat, so it affects shelf life as a whole going to the consumer.  The American taste for them never developed as it did in Europe, so there was no call to change things.

 

Being close to area chefs, we secreted a few whole shellfish unshucked for those who asked. There is an outfit somewhere in Mass.that ships them whole, so I guess the law is different there:  http://www.farm-2-market.com/fish-seafood/scallops/fresh-sea-scallops-with-roe/