Large scallops, seared and topped with brown butter sauce with capers and lemon zest.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
A nicely seared scallop is a feast for the eyes and a treat to eat. However, it can only be a small challenge to achieve this.
The scallops should smell fresh and sweet and not fishy, or you may be buying scallops that are past their sell-by date.
For a good sear, you need a high-powered burner and a relatively sticky pan that can withstand the heat, such as a frying pan. B. a well seasoned cast iron skillet or a hard anodized aluminum skillet.
Scallops are naturally moist, so it takes a lot of heat to sear them properly. If the heat isn’t high enough, your scallops will become overcooked and rubbery when browned.
Once you master the technique of searing scallops, the world is your “scallop,” so to speak. The scallops are perfect just the way they are, maybe with a squeeze of lemon.
Or you can take it up a notch, like we did here with this sauce made with browned butter, white wine, lemon zest, and capers.
The browned butter enhances the scallops’ natural butteriness, while the wine, lemon, and capers help break through the scallops’ richness. Enjoy!
Seared Scallops with Brown Butter Capers Sauce
When buying scallops, only choose scallops that have a fresh, sweet smell. If they smell fishy, they aren’t fresh and they don’t taste good.
When given a choice, look for “dry pack” rather than “wet pack” scallops. The scallops from the dry pack are easy to sear. The wet packs are almost impossible to burn.
The trick to cooking scallops is to sear them over very high heat. If the heat isn’t high enough, the scallops will take too long to brown and become overcooked and rubbery.
ingredients
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6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter
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2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
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1 pound scallops (about a dozen)*
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3/4 cup dry white wine
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2 tablespoons capers, drained
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2 teaspoons lemon zest
- * Scallops are the large scallops (about 1 1/2 inches across) distinct from their much smaller relatives, the bay scallops.
method
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Fry butter:
Cut the butter into pieces (about a tablespoon) and place in a stainless steel saucepan. Melt butter over medium heat. Froth the butter and set aside. Watch carefully. After a few minutes, the milk solids will form and sink to the bottom.
Once the milk solids have turned a caramel brown, the butter has a nice nutty flavor.
Remove from heat and pour the browned butter into a separate bowl to stop cooking. (Caution! If you wait too long, you’ll have blackened butter, not browned butter.) Set aside.
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Remove “foot” and pat scallops dry:
Remove the scallop “foot” from each scallop. (The foot is a small, tough piece of meat that attaches the scallop to the shell.) Pat the scallops dry.
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Fry the scallops on both sides over high heat:
Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet or hard-anodized aluminum sauté pan over high heat.
When the oil is simmering hot, pat the scallops dry again and carefully place them flat-side down in the pan.
You may have to work in batches so you don’t overfill the pan.
Once you’ve placed the scallops in the pan, don’t move them. Let them fry.
Once you can see that the edges of the scallops touching the pan are browned, use tongs to flip the scallops and sear the other side. Depending on the size of the scallops and the heat of your burner, this should take 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Once both sides are browned, place the scallops on a warm plate and turn off the heat.
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Deglaze pan with white wine:
Pour the remaining oil from the pan, leaving any browned bits in the pan. Pour the white wine into the pan and return the pan to the stove over high heat.
Bring the wine to a boil and reduce until you have 2 tablespoons of liquid left in the pan.
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Add capers, lemon zest, brown butter:
Then turn off the heat, add the capers, lemon zest and brown butter to the pan. Swirl to combine.
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Serve scallops with sauce:
Arrange the scallops on plates and pour the sauce over them. Serve immediately.
