Scallop Divers

[CharityCase]

Um...Yum.

Great posts.

[johnnyd]

I'm not sure what I think of the fennel, though. with lime? and chilis? it isn't clicking in my mental palate, which is generally quite reliable.

On this day I had no cilantro, the preferred choice. Chopped fennel bulb provided a soft counterpoint to the garlic and shallot. Try it. You only need a tablespoon or so.

I'm stocking it for ceviche from now on.

[ulterior epicure]

I have a question. But first, a quick story.

I had the largest sea scallop that I have ever seen for dinner the other night. Our server overheard me lamenting (to my dinnermate) that I couldn't order their scallop dish; it looked spectacular. But, I could eat it because shellfish was served in a sauce made of something I'm allergic to...

Well, from mouth inadvertantly to the chef... between our first and main course, out came a surprise from the chef - two gigantic scallops. They were coated in a spicy jerk-like rub and pan fried - PERFECT. Because of their dark rub and caramelization, upon first glance I mistook them for two eight ounce filet mignons!! That's how big they were!

Just last week, I prepared sea scallops at a dinner I cooked for. At the fishmonger's I made sure that they were dry-packed... these puppies were U-10's - just a twitch under 3 oz. each. The one I had at the restaurant must have been at least twice as large as U-10's.

Question: Is there such a thing as U-5? U-6? U-4? How common are these jumbo scallops? Are they naturally occurring? That is, did I just happen to land a particularly large scallop, or do they "manufacture" these giants through artificial means (ie chemically/horomone-enhanced food, etc...)?

Would love to hear from seafood/scallop specialists!

u.e.

Edited April 22, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)