policyvote Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) Okay, so us Top Chef lovers know that the sea scallop has been the ultimate double-edged sword--live by it, die by it--for many contestants. I have made bay scallops at home many times with success--usually incorporating them into omelettes or something--but I'm having lots of trouble with sea scallops. To start with, I almost never find fresh scallops anywhere. Everything is either frozen and in a plastic bag, or sitting there under the sneeze guard looking all 'fresh', but really just pre-thawed. Every time I make sea scallops my wife complains that they are 'rubbery' and 'gross', and reiterates that she only likes the scallops they serve at our local hibachi place. I've wondered if I've been using too much heat, not enough heat, too much oil/butter, not enough, too long on the heat, not long enough . . . the only real sea scallop recipe I have is from Colicchio's book 'Think Like a Chef', which calls for cooking them in peanut oil, "medium-high" heat, for two minutes, adding a pat of butter, flipping, and cooking for one minute. The result of that doesn't produce anything near the nice sear that I see on these cooking shows or online. My daughter told me last week that I should make 'bacon-wrapped scallops' for dinner, which I suppose if I incorporate chipotle would be the most trendy dish ever. So last night I bought some decent bacon and some 'fresh' (previously frozen) sea scallops. I made like Spike: I used half a roll of paper towel trying to dry the bastards out. I cooked the bacon so it was still pretty chewy, tried searing the scallops in the bacon fat, then wrapping with the bacon, then briefly cooking them again in the fat to crisp the bacon up a little more. The result was, IMO, excruciatingly tasty, but once again the texture of the scallops wasn't right. The look was spot-on, the taste was good, but the texture just wasn't right. Any advice? Peace policy Edited January 14, 2009 by policyvote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 First off, perhaps the single most important thing in buying scallops is to look for "dry-packed" as opposed to wet packed. Wet packed means they're soaked in a preservative solution that plumps them up but, besides making them taste chemically, the liquid renders out when they cook which not only makes them shrink but also undermines your efforts to put a nice sear on. Honestly, using those scallops is more than half the fight. Of course, you want to dry them out best you can but the good news if you're using dry packed is that they will now be truly dry. I find a nice pan to sear fish is a thin carbon steel french pan. They're pretty cheap. You can get them smoking hot and the only thing they're not good for is sauces (especially those with any acid) because they're reactive and can make sauces turn gray. However, for searing fish, they're great. You can also use a non-stick. None the less, the trick is to not mess with it. Put one side down and leave it alone until you see the brown creep up the sides, then flip. Sometimes I'll just kill the flame at that point and just let the pan warm the scallop through on the underside. Another thing to do is to score the side of the scallop that you intend to sear about 1/8th deep in a criss cross pattern. That helps create a good crust and looks nice as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
policyvote Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 AH HA! I thought that gross white 'scallop water' smelled fishy (har har, pun intended). It seemed like there was no end to that crap. Now I know what to look for. Thanks for all the technique tips, too! As far as the oil temp, Colicchio recommended peanut oil heated up to 'shimmering', then, when the scallops are added, to adjust the heat so that the oil 'sizzles but doesn't smoke'. There's a pretty damn big range of temperatures where the oil sizzles but doesn't smoke . . . should it just be as hot as it can get without smoking? Peace policy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 i liked used the drypacked as well... never scored em. at most restaurants i've worked, i've been able to use a flattop to sear. when i've used a pan.... pretty darn hot pan... don't want your oil smoking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Once again, it pays to know your seafood. Drypacked it is. I'm a big fan of the grilling method for scallops. Direct high heat for no more than two minutes on a side (skewer them to make them easier to work with). Use a nice dipping sauce for final flavor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Love me some scallops, but don't prepare them at home - too hard to get good ones locally. From my experience with them at eateries, the most common mistake is over-cooking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Love me some scallops, but don't prepare them at home - too hard to get good ones locally. From my experience with them at eateries, the most common mistake is over-cooking. You can always order them... http://www.lobstersretail.com/wholesale/gurnet/index.htm Beyond always using drypacked scallops, my two constants are cast iron and grapeseed oil. I'd suggest prosciutto over bacon. A little different taste, but you don't want to worry about pre-cooking it for it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I'd say that if they're rubbery, they're overcooked. If I'm doing bacon wrapped scallops, I just wrap those bad boys in raw bacon and throw them in the oven, I guess around 375 or so. I cut the slices of bacon in half so it wraps just once around the scallop. Keep an eye on them and put the broiler on a bit at the end to brown up the bacon. Scallops cook pretty fast, so it's easy to over cook them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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