Just tried the recipe for pan seared scallops in the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated! YUM!! Big trick here seems to be to use "dry" scallops, all of which is explained in the article with the recipe. Did manage to find some at Whole Foods in Omaha. I will definitely be doing more of them, if I can afford the scallops!! $20 a pound!!! But on the plus side, there is no waste.
Pan Seared Scallops
- Thread starter john parker
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I'm a big fan of Cook's. Their recipes have never failed me.
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- #3
They are great, and I agree! Have you tried their website? Great reference.
Oh yes, the key to scallops is to towel dry them and leave them alone in the pan! Our reward is one of the best things from the sea. Probably top three seafood treats on my list. Congrats. Oh yes, love Cooks. 
I only use clarified butter to sear scallops.
+1 Big fan here, as well.
I am a scuba diver here in the UK, and one of the most delicious things I ever ate were scallops picked by hand from 10m under Torbay, then kept alive in a bucket of seawater for the 2 hour drive home, then cooked straight from the shell.
Good tip.
You don't have to watch Hell's Kitchen to know that scallops are one of the trickiest items to get just right. They have a very small window of opportunity- they go from mush to rubber in a flash.
It was durring my honeymoon to Niagra Falls NY at the Red Coach Inn. Oh man were they good. I had the surf and turf. the turf was ostrige and it was good too! I have never had scallops that good since then, over a year ago.
As an employee of Whole Foods, I have to say, our scallops are amazing (especially the bacon wrapped variety)
As for wet and dry scallops, it's not talking about the surface being dry, but how they were chemically treated.
As for wet and dry scallops, it's not talking about the surface being dry, but how they were chemically treated.
I'm fortunate enough to live where fresh scallops are widely available. I've never seen frozen scallops sold in fish stores or supermarkets with a decent fish counter. Fresh scallops have a delicate texture which, IMO, deteriorates by freezing.
Freezing them ruins the delicate texture. A really fresh hand-picked scallop is almost marshmallow in the middle if cooked properly.
Dredged scallops aren't the same either - they are nealry always a bit gritty.
Dredged scallops aren't the same either - they are nealry always a bit gritty.
I think I'll be breaking out my favorite scallop searing pan soon.
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- #15
What would using ghee be like? Ghee is Indian clarified butter, so clarified that it does not require refrigeration. Easy to find in Omaha at our three Indian grocers, so imagine it would be easy to find many places.
... with the roe still attached!
I have never had them that fresh, but in Asia (lived in Taiwan for 4 years), it was common to get nice scallops with the roe attached and they were to die for!
Being a diver in the UK, do you have access to a delicacy I had in Northern Spain, called perceves (goose necked barnacles)? They are unbelievable!
I like them seared in bacon fat. yum....
I don't know! I'll try and find some next time I'm down!
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