It is not easy to make perfect scallops in recipes which call for browning the scallops. They generally become way over cooked, tough and with all their natural juice leaked out.

I got some very nice sea scallops last night. I like my scallops sliced in halves. Here is a technique I have developed to brown scallops without overcooking them.

I used two cast-iron frying pans and heat both of them up very very hot.

Using a paper towel to dry the scallops of excess water and dump them in one of the frying pans when you see the oil starting to smoke.

The scallops will be browned on one side very quickly. Now immediately transfer the scallops to the other hot frying pan to brown the other side.

The whole cooking time takes a few seconds. Both sides of the scallops will be nicely browned with that wonderful BBQ flavor, yet inside is still nice and tender with all the delicate natural juice sealed inside.

Scallops on a bed of stir fried escarole.

Dcarch

Sorry

dcarch

Fresh scallops (yes they are previously frozen) are delicious and quick and always impressive. I also prefer to use a cast iron skillet. Only flip once - do not crowd the pan- and with no added water, it should not be necessary to use 2 skillets or slice in half unless you like them halved.

As always, your meal looks absolutely delicious. Your presentation spectacular.

I'm not sure exactly what a perfectly cooked scallop would be like.

Seems like when I order them in restaurants, they always seem to still be kind of raw in the middle.
Which I don't care for.

I'd bet that cutting them in half would eliminate that.

But I wonder what a restaurant cook would say if I requested scallops to be sliced?

Rusty

I use a similar method of cooking scallops. Only difference is, I use one, very hot, cast iron pan. Once the pan is hot, I add a thin film of olive oil. And allow the oil to get hot before adding the scallops.

Caramelization takes only one minute per side (with a center that is just translucent).

Sol

I use only one very hot cast iron skillet and get a nice carmelization, but I've found that the scallops should be very well dried and you can't put too many in the pan at once.

Of course, here they are all frozen and I don't find any that don't have water or something else added....

Annie

I'm in a rut of shallow frying scallops with a panko crumb coating, which is a good preparation. Scallops tempura are excellent too, but I don't deep fry very often, and never when cooking just for myself.

Sea scallops are a local product here (although still pretty expensive) and the quality it excellent, with no added water so far as I know. We also get the little imported Chinese "bay" or "calico" scallops which are tasteless. Then there are the local bay scallops, harvested at 2 years of age, which are great but have been scarce for the past several years.

Coquille St. Jacque is a delicious scallop dish, one of the best seafood dishes I ever made. Gotta find that Howard Mitchum cookbook so I can post his recipe. It has a creamy sauce with white wine, lemon and gruyere. It starts by poaching the scallops in the wine, creating a delicious stock which is the base for the sauce.

Once I had scallop roe sushi. I've never seen that again. It requires live scallops I believe and scallops don't live long enough out of the water to be transported anywhere.

Dcarch, your recent shell creations got me thinking about a lampshade I made many years ago from sea scallop shells, which are five inches or so in diameter and have a color range from creamy to rosy pink. I drilled tiny holes in the edges of the shells and wired them together with brass wire, forming a sphere 12 inches or so in diameter. Sea scallop shells are thin and looked nice lighted from within. I gave the shade as a gift to someone I no longer see. Sorry I can't show it to you. :-(

Jim

Thanks, magothyrivergirl. I will explain why I use two skillets later on.

"Posted by therustyone --Dro-o-o--o-oo-o-oo-l. . . . .. I'm not sure exactly what a perfectly cooked scallop would be like. Seems like when I order them in restaurants, they always seem to still be kind of raw in the middle. Which I don't care for. I'd bet that cutting them in half would eliminate that. But I wonder what a restaurant cook would say if I requested scallops to be sliced? Rusty"

Thanks, Rusty. To me, a perfectly cooked scallop is one with nice caramelization on both sides, and inside is just cooked but not over done. That’s difficult to achieve with a thick scallop. Scallops cooked too long will get tough and all the juices leaked out. Also browning brings out the delicate flavor in scallops. Cutting them in halves give you more surfaces to brown. I don’t like raw scallops.

"Posted by solsthumper ---Beautiful dish, Dcarch! I use a similar method of cooking scallops. Only difference is, I use one, very hot, cast iron pan. Once the pan is hot, I add a thin film of olive oil. And allow the oil to get hot before adding the scallops. Caramelization takes only one minute per side (with a center that is just translucent). Sol"

Thanks, Sol. I use two skillets because I normally cook a large quantity of scallops. One skillet can’t provide enough heat to brown quickly. I enjoy cold leftover scallop salad.
"Posted by marigene -------Those scallops look wonderful! Thanks for the tip on using 2 cast iron pans."

Thanks, marigene. They smell even better. When the scallops hit the hot frying pan, the aroma permeates the whole neighborhood.

"Posted by annie1992 -----
Of course, here they are all frozen and I don't find any that don't have water or something else added.... Annie"

Big problem for scallop lovers nowadays. Really have to look around to find good ones.

"Posted by lindac ------- I grill scallops...."

Grilled scallops are a must to go with grilled shrimps.
"Posted by jimster ---
Those are mighty attractive scallops, dcarch. ---------We also get the little imported Chinese "bay" or "calico" scallops which are tasteless."

Thanks, Jim. Sometimes you get fake bay scallops. They are just some kind of fish meat cut to look like bay scallops.

"Once I had scallop roe sushi. I've never seen that again. It requires live scallops I believe and scallops don't live long enough out of the water to be transported anywhere. "

When I was in Paris, I found them everywhere.

"Dcarch, your recent shell creations got me thinking about a lampshade I made many years ago from sea scallop shells, which are five inches or so in diameter and have a color range from creamy to rosy pink. I drilled tiny holes in the edges of the shells and wired them together with brass wire, forming a sphere 12 inches or so in diameter. Sea scallop shells are thin and looked nice lighted from within. I gave the shade as a gift to someone I no longer see. Sorry I can't show it to you. :-( Jim"

Sounds like a great looking luminaries. Make one again and show me some pix :-)

dcarch

I hear that all the time, usually about fake scallops being punched out of skate wings. I have never, in years of visiting and then living here, seen evidence of it. We need to have a snopes investigation.

"Sounds like a great looking luminaries. Make one again and show me some pix :-)"

That is entirely possible.

Jim

Ingredients

6 big scallops, preferably fresh from shell
20 small shrimps (already cooked)
100 gr [3 1/2 oz] mushrooms
30 gr [1 oz] butter + a few knobs
40 gr [1 1/2 oz] plain flour
1 cup of water (250 ml)
1/2 cup dry white wine (125 ml)
2 spoons + 1 drop olive oil
1 drop of lemon juice
1 big shallot ; 1 bay leaf
1 spoon of sour cream
6 spoons of dry breadcrumbs
Grated nutmeg, salt & pepper

Method

1. Peal the shrimps ; peal the shallot and cut it in 2 halves, longwise. Wash the scallops if necessary and cut them in half crossway. Thinly slice the mushrooms.
2. In a small saucepan, pour the water and wine; add the shallot, bayleaf, the drops of oil and lemon juice, and salt. Add the scallops; they should be entirely covered by the liquid. Gently bring to simmer, cover with a lid, and let cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Remove the scallops from the cooking liquid and strain them, but keep the cooking juice.
4. In a frying pan, cook the sliced mushroom in the 2 spoons of olive oil, for about 5 minutes (medium-high heat, stirring often).
5. Prepare your 4 individual scallop dishes: display 3 slices of scallop in the bottom of each, put 5 shrimps on them, equally divide the mushrooms on top of them.
6. In a medium saucepan, prepare a white sauce: melt the butter, medium flame, and pour the flour on it while stirring until well blended. On a more gentle flame, start pouring a bit of the cooking juice and gently stir until it is incorporated; keep doing this way until the white sauce is ready (it must get thicker, but not too much; reckon 10 minutes). The quantity of liquid you have might be slightly too much, don't hesitate to leave some away.
7. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; finally add the cream.
8. Pour the white sauce equally in each individual scallop dish.
9. Sprinkle equally the breadcrumbs on each dish and put one or two thin butter knobs on.
10. Put under oven grill until gloden brown (reckon 10 minutes). Serve immediately.

When I was in France, I was overwhelmed by the freshness and varieties of seafood. I bought an electric stove and a pot and sneak them in the hotel I was staying and plain cooked the seafood I bought not far from Avenue des Champs-Élysées from an open market , including scallops with red roe. My own

dcarch

Scallops cooked until they are no longer translucent in the middle - what a travesty and waste of a good scallop!

Annie

A scallop cooked to the rubbery stage is like a steak cooked well done.

Yeah, I know folks who like both of those things. But...

Jim

On the other hand I can say I really like scallops, have never been served one that I've found to be undercooked, yet I know I overcook mine and like them just the same. This thread and others has hopefully given me confidence to cook them a bit less. And maybe appreciate them even more?

I also like fish cooked a bit more than I usually get it at restaurants, except tuna, which I like rare, go figure.

Annie

I'm sure that does nothing to resolve the issue of scallop doneness issue in this thread though. :-)

Jim

Fresh (supposedly) sea scallops are on sale here this week. I see some experimentation with doneness in the near future. And some more carrot fritters that Lori posted - damn they were good!

The restaurant at which I normally have scallops deep fries them, golden on the outside and soft inside. They do an excellent job of frying seafood, never over cooked. I like scallops that way but it seems a lot of folks do not. If you don't, it would be wise to specify doneness when ordering.

Jim

In a class, a renowned local chef who specializes in seafood explained the difference in scallops. He said that when the fishing boats go out, it's for several days & each day's catch is placed in water to retain freshness. Obviously, by the end of the trip the scallops are waterlogged & some aren't so fresh. The catch of the final day is brought in without the water treatment & sold fresh - around here, they're called 'dry packs' & another name that escapes me - & the quality is superior. So is the price!! He also said that scallops contain a natural sugar that aids in browning provided it hasn't been soaked out on a long voyage.

I love a really rare steak but prefer scallops fairly well cooked!

It is "caramelizing".

Also, in another forum where I post, where there are a few professional chefs, It was pointed out to me:

"----------What you speak of is the Maillard reaction, not carmelization.

Just so you know the real name.---------"

I like "browning" better. :-)

dcarch

That's interesting because the texture, or firmness, of both changes with cooking in almost the same way. But judging from the other posts, it's not unusual to have those preferences.

Jim

Caramelization happens when a dry sugar, or somewhat evaporated sugar solution is heated until it melts into a clear, viscous liquid, then a smooth brown mixture.

I'm not a profession chef, but I am a student of organic chemistry, specifically food science, so I totally understand why they would feel the need to clarify.

AM

What is caramel, as in caramel candy?

Isn't the browning of toast an example of caramelization? I think that's what makes it taste good.

Jim

The really big reason for using only diver scallops though is because the majority of the scallops on the market are harvested by boats that drag heavy chain sweeps across the ocean floor. Diver scallops are a much more ecologically friendly way of harvesting scallops & helps maintain the ocean's harvest balance. Man will destroy the ocean's abundance, if allowed, IMO.

Look for diver scallops, they really are better. Also watch for Chinese scallops. IMO, I would insist on North Atlantic sea scallops (Gulf of Maine & Canadian Maritimes).

Scallops that are without any additives are called "dry packed" while scallops that are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) are called "wet packed". STP causes the scallops to absorb moisture prior to the freezing process, thereby getting a better price per unit of weight. The freezing process takes about two days. You can see the difference immediately at your fish monger's. Dry scallops are just as it sounds...dry. The others are gloppy looking & quite disgusting.

/tricia

Caramelized sugar is an example of caramelization via pyrolysis, or the breakdown of a complex substance (sucrose) into a simple substance (glucose and fructose) from heat.

Basically, caramelization involves sugar; a Maillard reaction involves a protein.

I love food science. Almost as much as I love food!

AM