A beautifully seared scallop is a delight to behold and a pleasure to eat. It can be just a little challenging to accomplish though.
First, you need to start with good quality “dry packed” scallops, or natural scallops, not “wet packed” that are soaked in preservatives.
The scallops should be fresh and sweet smelling, not fishy, or you are buying scallops that are past their use-by date.
To get a good sear, you need a strong burner, and a relatively stick-free pan that can withstand the heat, such as a well-seasoned cast iron pan, or a hard anodized aluminum pan.
You also need a cooking oil with a high smoke point, such as canola oil, grape seed, or rice bran oil.
Scallops are naturally moist, so it takes high heat to sear them properly. If the heat isn’t high enough, your scallops will be overcooked and rubbery by the time they’re browned.
Once you’ve mastered the technique of searing scallops, the world is your “scallop” so to speak. The scallops are perfect just as they are, with perhaps a squirt of lemon.
Or you can take them a notch higher, as we’ve done here with this sauce of browned butter, white wine, lemon zest, and capers.
The browned butter enhances the natural butteriness of the scallops, while the wine, lemon, and capers help cut through the richness of the scallops. Enjoy!
Seared Scallops with Brown Butter Caper Sauce Recipe
When shopping for scallops, choose only scallops that have a fresh, sweet smell. If they smell fishy, they're not fresh and they won't taste good.
If you have a choice, look for "dry pack" instead of "wet pack" scallops. The dry pack scallops will sear well. The wet pack ones are almost impossible to sear.
The trick to cooking scallops is to sear them on very high heat. If the heat isn't high enough, the scallops will take too long to brown, and get overcooked and rubbery.
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp (3 ounces) unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp canola oil, rice bran oil, or other high smoke point oil
- 1 pound sea scallops (about a dozen)*
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 Tbsp capers, drained
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
*Sea scallops are the large scallops (about 1 1/2 inches wide), different from their much smaller cousins, bay scallops.
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