I can only get frozen sea scallops here. They contain a lot of extra water. How can I prevent them from stewing instead of sauteing?
I haven’t bought the frozen ones yet because I didn’t want to waste my money and get soggy scallops. My thoughts were as you suggest, but I wanted confirmation before I bought some. Thank you.
Yes, do as KW suggested. We also can only get frozen scallops here & if you buy the large SEA scallops, not the tiny Bay scallops, you’ll be fine. Thaw in the frig over night, then place paper toweling on a platter, put scallops on it, & cover with more paper toweling, press some weight on top of them & return to the frig.
Here, our special way to prepare them on Christmas Eve is to prepare as above. Then do what is known as a reverse dipping.
Prepare a large pan, add 1/3 amount of MARGARINE (let it melt), then add 2/3 part real butter, let it melt believe me, this is the best way, don’t expect them to both melt at the same time, amount of butter/margarine is determined by pan size.)
In a shallow dish add an amount of plain flour (again depends on amount of scallops), season with salt, pepper or whichever seasoning you choose. Here we prefer to taste the scallops so stick with salt & pepper. In a 2nd shallow dish, scramble an amount of eggs (again depends on number of scallops) add a tablespoon water per each egg & again salt & pepper. Set aside.
Make sure skillet has heated well (can check by tossing a hand sprinkle of water & wait for the sizzle) Using the wet hand-dry hand method …FIRST: Dip the scallops into the flour…then into the egg (yes, it’s in reverse) add to pan, turn when golden. Have an oven preheated to 400 & a pan lined with parchment. Remove scallops & continue cooking in the oven (maybe 8 minutes) Don’t crowd pan, you might have to stop & dump excess from pan, wipe with paper toweling & begin again.
If I’m making many scallops I always have 2 pans ready to go. Serve with tartar sauce, simple lemon wedges or anything else.
Why are the easiest recipes the hardest to explain?
No, I haven’t tried the lemon-pepper. I do like it but I season other items with it so I usually stick to the basic scallop taste. Personally, I don’t even use tartar sauce, lemon, or other 'cause I want the full scallop taste. I know many others do though.
Now I want some…right this minute.
I bought some today for tomorrow night’s dinner party. They look beautiful with the coral still attached in half shells. I will just saute them and serve on a bed of arugula and red onion dressed with olive oil,lemon juice, salt and pepper with Parmesan shavings as first course.
I thawed the scallops in the fridge, and then placed them on a double thickness of paper towels with another double layer on top and refrigerated them until ready to cook them. I heated olive oil to very hot and seared them on both sides. I placed them on the arugula dressed with olive oil and lemon. Salt and pepper and a few Parmesan shards. Delicious! They went over very well. Thanks for the tips on how to prepare frozen scallops.