How to Get Best Sear on Scallops

[gulfporter]

We splurged and bought some dry-pack scallops today.  Have never cooked before (have attempted to sear 'cheaper' scallops, with little luck, understandably).  

 

My preference (as always) is to use my gas grill, on which I have a very good grill rack which gets very very hot.  Or, I can cook indoors, if I must.  

 

I'd appreciate advice on getting the quickest best sear without overcooking the scallop which (for us) needs to be barely warmed inside).  

 

Oil the grill pan, oil the scallops???  Any dusting of flour???

 

TIA for any hints you have found effective.  

[rane008]

The enemy of a good sear is external moisture.  To minimize any surface water, I salt the scallops and let them sit for 10 minutes.  This will help draw out some water.  Then dry with paper towels and put on a wire rack over a sheet pan and leave uncovered in the fridge for 2 hours.  This will develop a "tack" on the surface--it's a sticky substance the caramelizes well.  

 

For the actual sear, clarified butter is normally used, though I've used regular olive oil and grapeseed oil in the past.  Cast iron is preferable since the addition of the cold scallops won't cool the pan significantly.  Get the oil pretty much smoking hot, add scallops, don't crowd, work in batches.  

[weinoo]

I'm able to get a good sear, even in non-stick. Paper towels and a hot pan. If they're big, 1 minute a side should do you.  I never flour them, but I do salt them.

Edited February 12, 2015 by weinoo (log)

[KennethT]

David Bouley used to dust with wondra flour prior to searing.

[Paul Bacino]

Also I always cook the scallop on side 1, longer.  I would say 1/3 a way up turning opaque, quick flip. warm and serve.

 

last ones I did I put instant potato flakes on mine..just a curve ball.  not that I recommend it..

[Mendel C-k]

Really hot pan on high heat, a bit of clarified butter. Keep on one side for as long as you dare, this is your presentation side. the bigger (more accurately - thicker) the scallop the better as this allows for more time on that side. Dry as much as you can before hand, add salt (not pepper - it burns) before searing. Don't overcrowd the pan, do in batches if necessary or concurrent pans.

enjoy.

 

Just read above comments - Rane008 got it covered. 

[paulraphael]

The wondra flour trick works for any pan-seared seafood. As with any dredging where you don't want the food to seem breaded, dry the scallop carefully, and dust with the flour very lightly (I use a small chinois) right before putting into the pan. 

 

Doesn't matter when you salt, as long as you dry the food right before dusting and cooking.

 

I'd skip the clarified butter. You lose too much butter flavor through clarification. Use a refined, flavorless oil for the sear, and then if you want butter flavor, add some whole butter and baste over the top as it browns in the pan. At this point the scallop will have cooled the pan enough to keep the butter from burning.

[FeChef]

Cast Iron pan preheated in oven @450-500F, then onto stove top on high will get you the best sear. I lightly rub the scallops with oil or melted butter and leave the pan dry. This prevents splattering and smoking up the house and also bad taste of burnt oil.

[Bill Klapp]

The wondra flour trick works for any pan-seared seafood. As with any dredging where you don't want the food to seem breaded, dry the scallop carefully, and dust with the flour very lightly (I use a small chinois) right before putting into the pan. 

 

Doesn't matter when you salt, as long as you dry the food right before dusting and cooking.

 

I'd skip the clarified butter. You lose too much butter flavor through clarification. Use a refined, flavorless oil for the sear, and then if you want butter flavor, add some whole butter and baste over the top as it browns in the pan. At this point the scallop will have cooled the pan enough to keep the butter from burning.

Wondra also works brilliantly for sauteeing fresh foie gras, should one's ethics, morality, sense of fundamental fairness and applicable state law permit its consumption...

[gulfporter]

Thanks to all!  

 

I dried them well following rane008's advice.  

 

Seared in a very hot pan with olive oil, very quickly.  I used the rather powerful side burner on my outdoor gas grill to avoid splatter indoors.  

 

They seared up wonderfully.

[slkinsey]

The best sear I have ever got on scallops was using the Ideas in Food "twice cooked scallops" technique.  I imagine this may be too complicated for many people, but for those with the available tools it yields great results.  Effectively what it means is brining them in a 5% solution for 10 minutes, then stacking them together and rolling them into a log shape using plastic wrap which then gets dropped into a 50C water bath for 30 minutes and chilled.  At this point, you can leave them in the refrigerator for a day or so with no loss of quality.  When it comes time to sear them, the pre-treatment makes the unseared product just a bit firmer and easier to handle, and for reasons I don't understand, it is a lot easier to get a really nice brown sear on the presentation side while the rest of it remains "just barely done" and tender.  This is now my standard procedure for sea scallops.

[jmacnaughtan]

In general, does it make a difference if you sear at room temperature or directly from the fridge?

 

I would have thought that it'd give you more sear time if they were chilled, but there may be other consequences I haven't thought of.

[dcarch]

First, decide on what texture you like to have your scallops taste, then figure out the best way to sear the outside. Scallops taste good from raw to well done. Searing the outside is mainly for aesthetics. 

 

I first sous vide the scallops to 120F then sear on very hat cast iron pans. Yes, pans. 

 

I use two pans. Sear one side on one pan while the other one gets red hot, then sear the other side with the other pan..

 

Sometimes I sear the sides of scallops, not the tops and bottoms, just for fun.

 

dcarch

 

Scallops in crispy bacon rings, wasabi sauce

 

Scallops on scalloped potato  :-)

[Shel_B]

 

Scallops in crispy bacon rings, wasabi sauce

 

 

 

 

How did you get the heart-shaped brand on to the scallops?

[dcarch]

How did you get the heart-shaped brand on to the scallops?

 

I have a custom made branding iron.

 

dcarch

[Okanagancook]

That's just "sick".  Wish I had one.

[_john]

Dry scallops at 5°C for about 6 hours and then throw them in the deep fryer until brown. Best sear all around, no one will know they were in the deep fryer, our little secret.