I'm inspired and trying to cook scallops for the first time tonight. I'm scared!

I don't know about the characteristics of PP's pan, but my cast iron skillet sure as heck can burn some shallots and milk solids if it has been fully pre-heated to high heat. If I put the butter in and immediately turned off the pan, this would still burn for me.

But yes you can caramalize shallots on high heat in butter because the water content of the butter protects them somewhat.

Anonymous wrote:Have melted butter simmered with smashed garlic clove ready on side. Thinly slice a shallot. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet to high heat. Place scallops on cast iron with no oil. After about a minute, quckly turn scallops, add sliced shallot, pour in melted butter, wait 30 seconds, turn off heat. Scallops will be browned on both sides, shallots will caramelize, butter will not burn. Sinful.

Thinly sliced shallots caramelize that quickly and don't burn with that high of heat? Good to know, going to try this next time.

Have melted butter simmered with smashed garlic clove ready on side. Thinly slice a shallot. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet to high heat. Place scallops on cast iron with no oil. After about a minute, quckly turn scallops, add sliced shallot, pour in melted butter, wait 30 seconds, turn off heat. Scallops will be browned on both sides, shallots will caramelize, butter will not burn. Sinful.

Scallops are easy once you understand how to sear rather than boil/steam. If you defrost scallops, they are still wet and you add them to a cool pan with sauce/butter they will release more water and boil in the liquid. You don't get the good sear and they end up tasting rubbery.

1. Make sure that they are dry. Lay them on a paper towel. Turn them over after a few minutes onto a dry fresh paper. You can also season them with salt which will draw the water out before laying them on the paper towel.

2. Don't use a non-stick pan. A good quality non-stick pan is best. Start with a very small amount of butter, lemon juice and garlic.

3. You should hear a sizzle when you place them on the pan. If you don't it hasn't heated up enough.

4. Don't keep flipping them over. You can use one as your test scallop. Flip them when they start to look slight opaque and you have a good sear on the bottom.

The only thing I would add to pp who have said high heat is a cast iron skillet.

Anonymous wrote:And this is why I've given up wasting money buying fish/seafood to cook at home. It takes some talent that escapes me.

The Whole Foods at Tenley appears to unwrap their own flash-frozen fish and place it on ice in the display case for $4 more a pound than the same exact fist 15 feet away. It is aggravating.

My favorite confusing grocery-store label is "ripened on the vine" tomatoes. That means they harvested under ripe tomatoes but left a piece of vine sticking to them.

If your point is that you shouldn't assume without verification that thawed shrimp in a supermarket has never been frozen, then I agree. If your point is that all commercially available shrimp and scallops have been previously frozen, I disagree.

And this is why I've given up wasting money buying fish/seafood to cook at home. It takes some talent that escapes me.

http://www.thekitchn.com/fresh-or-frozen-shrimp-buy-fro-146270

"In the display case, fresh shrimp always look more enticing — and, well, fresher — than frozen, but according to the LA Times Test Kitchen, frozen shrimp is actually the better choice.

Because nearly all the commercial shrimp we buy are individually quick-frozen shortly after being caught, the "fresh" shrimp in the seafood case is actually just thawed frozen shrimp. Non-frozen shrimp are less convenient and usually more expensive than frozen and because there's no telling when they were thawed, they can also be less fresh. Oh, the irony."

I've purchased scallops that weren't even dead yet. They are definitely not all previously frozen.

I don't know why you think that all scallops (much less all shrimp!) have been previously frozen. That is not true.

Also, scallops are literally my toddler's favorite food. Well, maybe mussels but its neck and neck.

Remember that scallops, even expensive ones, were frozen on the boat while still at sea. If you're not buying them frozen, then that just means they were thawed prior to your buying them. Might as well save the money and buy frozen and thaw them yourself. This applies equally to shrimp.

Important, with scallops, to get the excess moisture out. After thawing, LIGHTLY salt them and leave them on a paper towel for 15m, then pat extremely dry with paper towels. Don't skimp on the paper towels -- these scallops costs $10/pound and paper towels cost a dollar for a whole roll.

Agreed that the way to go is a high sear, extremely briefly, on both sides. DO NOT cook until cooked completely through -- there is this thing called carry-over cooking -- they will be overcooked by the time they get to the table. Instead, cook until still raw in the middle. You basically cannot undercook a scallop because they are delicious even raw, you are just searing off the outsides for texture purposes. In order to get a high sear, you need to use a flavorless oil with a high smoke point (so not olive oil and DEFINITELY not butter) -- I go with canola oil.

On the side, a fresh tomatillo salsa or something of that nature.

Your kids will not eat this. Make chicken nuggets to go with it. One night of "being a short order cook" and making chicken nuggets will not kill them.

Ina Garten has a great scallop recipe that is easy and really delicious. It's one of our go-to scallop recipes! I serve it with rice and a green veggie. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/scallops-provencal-recipe.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lemon and butter in pan. Cook lightly, brown on both sides. Stir in some vodka at the end. Make sure you don't cook to long. Add some chopped up parsley.

I have to disagree with this advice. Very hot pan with oil (butter will burn if the pan is hot enough), salt and white pepper both sides after patting them very dry. Sear quickly on both sides and watch to see them turn opaque in the middle. Once seared, they will lift off the pan easily. It depends on the thickness but this should not take long in a hot pan. Add butter and lemon at the end if you want that or sauce but do not cook the lemon juice or burn the butter.

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