Chef Jeff: Baked Scallops

I didn't really intend on doing scallops over and over again but it just seemed to come up. Although this time it's a different approach. Instead of the sear this time, I went with baking scallops in the shell. This was a trial run for baking and I was pretty sure I'd screw up and sure enough I wasn't all too exuberant with the result. The inspiration for the recipe is from another blog I found on Google, Kathryn Cooks With Jamie.

I got beautiful, large sea scallops from Yaohan. These cost about CDN3.50 each; they are alive fresh.

Prep

Shucking them open was pretty straightforward. Cutting along the flat edge of the scallop to shear off the muscle that clamps the shell.

Cooking

Second part was the sauce. I chose to go with the Asian style sauce from the recipe I found.

Fresh chopped ginger, mixed with soy sauce, chinese cooking white wine, freshly grounded coriander, lime, sugar, sesame oil. Mixed the sauce and poured them onto the scallops. Drizzled some olive oil over the scallops.

The first screw up was the cooking, I wasn't too sure about the temperature and cooked at 350F for 5 minutes. I realized it was still undercooked so I put it in the oven again for another 8 minutes.

The scallops were cooked at this point, but they were also overcooked. Just a little, but enough to make the meat chewy already.

Overall result: 3/5

I wasn't too distressed about the overcooking. I went in expecting this, but I didn't have a clear idea of what the expected cooking temp/time was. The sauce was way too salty. I probably should have mixed in less soy (even though I already used less-salt soy sauce), and used more sesame oil and wine.

Notes

Try 425F for 8-10mins next time.

Also try a different sauce, soy doesn't go too well with the scallops.

Chef Jeff: Seared Scallops

Searing scallops. Take two.

I tried to dry the scallops before cooking as much as possible. Any suggestions? I used paper towels to absorb the moisture about three times each.

Unlike the last time I seared scallops where I didn't put enough salt or seasoning, this time, I put a lot of salt this time.

The scallops absorb the salt like crazy so be liberal in salting. I also put a lot of pepper to season and give it flavor. The scallops are pretty thick so they needed a lot to give enough taste to all of the meat.

On to cooking... I used some butter and cilantro to give some smell and texture to give it that extra kick.

I'm very happy with the overall result. Perfect sear with balanced seasoning.