Food For Thought: Seared Scallop

I'm hungry for some scallops.
Today's installment for food for thought will be seared scallops. Searing is a basic technique in cooking that is a fast processes. Using a high heat pan, the outside of the scallop is given a golden color while caramelizing the sugars on the scallop creating a delicious savory flavor with a touch of sweetness without over cooking the delicate scallop. Hopefully after reading this, you can avoid the colorless bland scallop that has the texture of rubber you get at those restaurants you never go back to.

Scallop?
How can you tell if a scallop is fresh? Let's go through the five senses.
Smell - The stronger the odor, the older it is. The less, the better. And if it smells bad, then it's probably bad.
Sight - Look for nice round evenly shaped scallops. The whiter the better.
Sound - Wait till you sear it. I love that sizzle sound, don't you?
Touch - Shouldn't be sticky. Also it should be fairly firm. A droopy looking scallop is a sad scallop.
Taste - It should taste good. It probably will after you sear it.
As to wear to get good ones, all leading supermarkets probably won't have the freshest of scallops. The best would probably be sold at a fisherman's market sold straight from the fisherman. But if you can find frozen Japanese Hokkaido Scallops, those would be perfect.

To prepare scallops, rinse under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. If there is a small tough muscle that appears on the side of the scallop, remove it gently. Do not season yet, it is best to season it right before searing. The salt would draw out the moisture out of the scallop if seasoned to early.

Tools
The best pan you can find is an all-clad saute pan. Or if you want to make things easier, a non-stick pan would be good. Also a fish spatula would work to flip your scallop. Tongs would be fine as well.

Process
```Warning. Searing scallops uses a good amount of high heat oil/butter that may cause splashing. Wearing long sleeve may help against hot oil spitting at you. Other than that, be careful.
Start by taking your all-clad pan and putting a good amount of grapeseed or vegetable oil (olive oil can't hold well in high heat) in it. Enough to scare you. Which means that not only the whole bottom is covered in oil, it is about 1/4 inch deep of oil. No worries about fat, you drain off any extra oil. The scallop won't absorb oil. Turn the heat on the highest level.

Next, season your scallop. Salt and pepper will do just fine. But if you would like, add any spice you'd like. Cayenne and/or paprika would be a good addition. But feel free to experiment.

Wait till your pan is hot enough. You can tell your pan is hot enough when the oil ripples when the pan is moved around and the oil gives off a light smoke. But it would be to hot if there is too much smoke. At this point add your scallop to the middle of the pan. After, quickly lower the heat to a medium to medium-high. See if the scallop could be moved around. If the heat was high enough, the scallop should not stick. Once one side is a nice golden brown flip the scallop over.

*Option - Basting. At this point add one clove of smashed garlic and a small sprig of thyme directly to the hot oil. Be careful because the oil should act up from the moisture of the thyme. Then quickly add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Turn the heat back to high. With a spoon, continually spoon the flavored hot oil/butter over the scallop. Note* - Basting should be done fairly quick and has a high risk of hot oil splashing. Be careful if you choose to do this. It adds a nice flavor to anything that is seared.

If you choose not to baste the scallop, staying on a med-high heat, simply flip it over and let the other side become a golden brown. Depending on the thickness of the scallop, if both sides are a nice golden brown at this point the scallop should be cooked through and not over cooked. If you'd like to have it at a more well doneness, simply place your scallop in a oven. The more you cook, the tougher it will be. A nice scallop should be around a medium doneness. Place your scallop on a paper towel to let any excess oil be absorbed.

Viola, you got yourself a seared scallop. A good sauce accompanied with the scallop would be great. An easy one would be if you were to take your pan and 1/2 cup of white wine and let it boil/reduce till its half of what it was. Then remove pan from heat and add half a stick of butter while constantly stirring. After all the butter has slowly melted away, add salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Spoon over your handsome seared scallop. But any sauce of your choice would be great.

Well I hope you enjoy your scallop and that I covered everything with searing a scallop. If you have any question fell free to leave comments. You can also myspace me or even call me. I'll be happy to solve any questions that you might have. Invite me over and ill give you a hands on lesson. Also if you try this, tell us how it went. Thank you for your time and thank you for reading. Enjoy your grub.