Delicious seared sea scallops – finally. Sea scallops are good, however you prepare them (unless you over-cook them, of course). But that exquisite sear has eluded me. Until now. I know (from reading) that “dry” sea scallops, scallops which haven’t been soaked in a preservative phosphate solution, are a must. I’ve purchased beautiful sea scallops from the grocery store, but the person behind the counter has never been able to tell me if I’m buying “wet” or “dry” sea scallops. Now I know that they were most likely “wet.” Always a disappointment – they would foam and sputter rather than crisp and caramelize.
Our friends Lisa and John, who live in Narragansett, Rhode Island, visited us this weekend, and they gifted us with a bag of plump, creamy scallops. Lisa and John purchased them right off the boat, so I didn’t have to ask if they were “dry” scallops. Still, I was wary of trying, yet again, to get that perfect sear. It’s so disheartening to fail so predictably, but I steeled myself and hoped for the best.
I pulled the scallops out of the fridge about an hour before I was planning to cook them. I carefully peeled off the little muscle on each scallop, and laid them out between layers of paper towels to dry, so that there was no sheen of moisture left at all. I slowly preheated my cast iron pan because although it’s a perfectly flat pan when it’s cold, it tends to warp as it heats up, so it rocks ever-so-slightly on my flat-top glass stove. Once the pan was evenly heated, I turned up the stove to medium high and added a tablespoon or so of olive oil. When the oil was shimmering, I carefully placed the scallops in the pan, turned the heat to high and resisted the urge to touch them for a full two minutes. Then I added a few pats of butter, turned the scallops and cooked them for another minute longer. Voila! They were seared and sweet and tender.
Well, some of them were. The pan did warp in the process, so not all of the scallops seared right away, and I had to tend to the unfortunate ones by turning them repeatedly and shoving them into the center of the pan. Despite this, They were more than just good – they were wonderful, so much better than I had hoped! I pulled them out of the pan one by one as they turned golden and then nestled them in a shallow puddle of cilantro lime butter on a platter. We served them with baked Russet potatoes and a crunchy salad. Wow.
Ron texted John and Lisa to thank them. John suggested that a stainless steel pan might be better. Hmmm. I want to try this again, emboldened by my new-found success. I will buy “dry” sea scallops from The Fish Market. I have a nice, 12-inch stainless steel pan that I’ll use. It sits solidly against the glass stove top, and it’s big enough to cook all of the scallops in one batch. I’ll also use an oil with a high smoke point instead of olive oil. I can do this. You can too!
Seared Sea Scallops
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry sea scallops
- 2 T coconut oil (or any oil you have with a high smoke point)
- 2 pats butter
- sea salt
- Cilantro Lime Butter (see Note below)
Instructions
- Prep the scallops – Pull the scallops out of the fridge in advance to let them come to room temperature. Remove the little muscle from each scallop and place the scallops on paper towels to dry. Blot them to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Preheat your skillet and sear the scallops – Preheat your skillet then add 2 T of oil. When the oil is shimmering, place the scallops in the pan so that there is space between them. Sear for 2 minutes – do NOT touch. Add the pats of butter to the pan and use tongs to turn over each scallop. Sauté for 1 minute longer.
- Finish – Remove the scallops from the pan. Sprinkle them with sea salt and serve with cilantro lime butter.
Notes
Scrumptious Seared Sea Scallops! I cannot wait to try to make these little golden nuggets. They look perfect.
Enjoy!