Scallops

I've never cooked or eaten scallops before so am looking for guidance.

After watching Gordon Ramsey cook them so many times I want to give them a try, but I am a picky eater. What do they taste like? How is the best way to cook them? Any tried-and-true recipes you might share?

Thanks so much!

Bay scallops are smaller and a little sweeter than sea scallops.

You can saute them in a pan with butter, garlic, lemon juice and salt 'n' pepper.

You can broil them as well ( i use the same ingredients to season them ).

Or you can bread and fry them. ( dip in tartar sauce if you like )

As far as what they taste like.. Not a strong flavor.. not like clams or mussels.. They're light tasting if they are fresh.

GO for it!! Try something new alora!!!

Thanks Are they chewy or flaky like fish?

Bacon wrapped scallops are the best. *drools* I suppose they're considered an appetizer, but that just means you should eat more of them.

All you do is partially cook the bacon, not crispy, and then cut it in half lenthwise. Rinse the scallops in cold water, dip them in butter, and then wrap half a slice of bacon around it and secure with a toothpick. Put them under the broiler for around 8 minutes turning frequently - scallops will turn opaque when done. If you want some extra flavour, you can sprinkle pepper, garlic or whatever on them before broiling.


Super easy and soooo incredibly delicious. If you don't care about calories, you can dip them in melted garlic butter before you eat them.

Hmmmmm.. like lobster claw consistency... Does that help? ( not flaky like fish.. not " crunchy" like a shrimp either .. am i making this worse?? lol )

Originally posted by SugarJ
Hmmmmm.. like lobster claw consistency... Does that help? ( not flaky like fish.. not " crunchy" like a shrimp either .. am i making this worse?? lol )

lol- nope, that was a wonderful description! Thanks so much.

And thanks Duzey-- sounds delicious. Sometimes you just have to kiss off the calorie count, that's my motto! lol

Try also to take the scallops in a pan and make a sauce of your own. Somethig mild and maybe a touch spicy if you like. Something that won't overpower the flavor of the scallop. Depending on the type you get, most scallops don't have a hard flavor, rather they have a soft flavor wild subtle tones of fishy flavor. They are actually recommended in some circles for people who want to start eating fish and learning to appreciate and learn the world of seafood. Mini scallops are easily cooked. Sauteeing is good but don't overheat and watch the burns. They can even be boiled but if you choose to go that route Iw ould use a made sauce like I alluded to above lest you take the remaining flavor out.

Garlic is a lovely flavor to add. You can lso use cumin and pepper. Then again scallops are a type of food meant to pick up alot of flavors. get crazy and report back with what you did!

The consistency is alot like lobster claws as mentioned above. They should be easy to cut with a spoon even while offering little resistance. It shouldn't be something you have to chew like a steak or chicken. It should have a mildly seafood and buttery flavor when cooked naturally.

Good luck!

-Kyo

Thanks so much, Kyo! I'm so grateful that I can now go ahead and try scallops with confidence and the ability not to screw it up...at least not too bad.

Thanks!

Scallops are great!!

As a fellow admirer of GR's cooking, I've taken his recipe for a sauce from a fish dish at his Chelsea restaurant, and used it for scallops, which makes a great starter. I call it 'scollops with sweet & sour peeper sauce and chorizo'. Its quite time consuming to do, but worth the effort, and can be used for a main course too.

Off the top of my head it goes something like:

Serves 2
8 scallops
4 slices chorizo, very finely cubed (2mm)
couple of handfuls Baby Leaf Salad

For the sauce:

2 red peppers
Couple of large shallots, very finely chopped
3-4 large cloves of garlic, halved
handful of 1 tarragon* roughly torn
25ml white wine vinegar
Glass medium white wine
300ml vegetable stock

* (i'm still experimenting with herbs, to find out which is best - Tarragon is good, chevril is good, corriander is okay, Parsely adds nothing, Rosemary is slightly overpowering)

1. Put the peppers under a very hot grill to blacken the skins, once done wrap in clingfilm and leave to cool
2. Put your shallots and garlic is a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil and slowly sweat until soft
3. Remove the clingfilm from the peppers, the skins should now come off easily. Remove the skins and seeds, and chop.
4. Whack the heat up to full and drop the chopped peppers and white wine vinegar into the pan, cook until almost all of the vinegar has evaporated, then add the herbs, stock and wine.
5. Boil until reduced to a quarter of its original volume.
6. Remove from the heat, fish out the garlic and discard.
7. Put the sauce into a blender, or use a hand held whizzer to finely puree the mixture.
8. Strain the sauce through a muslin into a clean pan. If the sauce is runnny, then gently reduce to suit. Check and adjust seasoning, then remove from the hob.

9. Quickly fry the chorizo til slightly crispy, put to one side.
10. season the scallops with salt and peeper, and saute at medium heat in a pan with a little olive oil. They only need a couple of minutes a side tops.
11. bring the suace back up to temperature, and stir in a small knob of butter.

plate up: put a hanful of baby salad leaves in the centre of your plates, arrange the four scollops around the salad, place chorizo over 2 opposing scallops and garnish the other 2 with a herb leaf. Drizzle over the sauce in an appropriately cheffy manner, and serve. Enjoy. Bask in the praise and glory.

The sauce is worth the effort believe me!!

To make it into a main course I chuck a pan fried salmon fillet on top of the salad, and serve with roast potatoes.

[edit on 4-9-2008 by Paul]

Thanks Paul, that all looks delicious! I look forward to trying it

reply to post by Paul


Oh my that sounds divine. I am going to set off to the fish markets here (Japan) and see if I can find some nice fresh scallops to try this asap

cheers!

Good luck with your new good eats mission too Alora, I doubt you will be disappointed! scallops really are delicious when fresh and prepared well

Good luck, and hope you both enjoy the recipe!

I forgot to mention that I also usually include a seasonal green vegetable with this dish. Asparagus or broad bean puree have been the favorites this summer, their fresh flavour goes great with the scallops!