This basic technique will allow you to sear scallops beautifully and perfectly.
You can use any sauce meant for fish with it or simply drizzle Balsamic Vinegar over the finished scallops. You cant go wrong.
The recipe also describes in detail how to make a Beurre Blanc sauce. There are literally thousands of variations of this "Mother Sauce"
Before we start we need to address two important issues.
1. Scallops - You have to have a great source for fresh scallops. Soooo Fresh, not frozen and they must be dry, un-bleached scallops. Many disreputable suppliers ( actually Most ) inject water into scallops to plump them up. The will shrink to a fraction of there size and will not sear properly. The other sin is bleaching. For some reason the idiots in the world have decided that raw scallops should be bright white. Well they are not. They are creamy, sometimes a little yellow and even (females) are slightly pink. SMELL THEM!!!! before you buy them. you should smell the ocean and that is it. I have Wegman's Dewitt 1/4 of a mile away and my scallops are always stunning!!
2. Range/Hood - You don't need to have a $10,000 range to do this. You do need some heat. When you are re-muddeling your kitchen and choosing a new range please do ask about the burners and their BTU range. How low can they go and how high can they go. Being a stainless steal range is not enough. Most stainless ranges are simple the same cheap ol thing with a different finish and a bigger price tag. I have a wonderful range. It is a lot more range then what most people would ever have but........ I cook... All 6 of my burners go from 500 BTU to 16,000 BTU. when I am searing scallops I am using all 16,000 in a very high quality Aluminum core non stick pan.
My hood is externally vented and it pulls 900 cubic feet per minute. The average contractor grade one is something like 75 cu Ft. When you have a pan of clarified butter over 16,000 BTU you are going to get some smoke. A lot of smoke. So something needs to pull it all out of your house. When it comes to show time think about ventilation you can figure out something.
Now for the recipe....
8 medium, dry, unbleached scallops, brought up to room temperature
2Tb Clarified butter
Sea salt
Black pepper
2 Tb finely chopped shallots
1 Tb curry
1/4 cup Malt Vinegar (any high quality white vinegar)
1 cup dry white wine
3 Tb cold unsalted butter
1 Tb heavy cream
Prepare the scallops: Lightly brush the scallops to make sure there is no sand on them. Check the side for the little connective muscle that may be attached. if found simply pull it off. Leave the scallops out until they are at room temperature. This will help the quality of the sear. Just prior to cooking lightly season both sides with salt and pepper.
In a High quality medium fry pan, add the clarified butter. This is very important!!! too much butter will poach the scallops and they will become little rubber balls with no color. less is better.
Turn the burner to full heat and begin heating the butter. when the butter is barely smoking hot add the scallops. Make sure that there is enough room in the pan so that they are not crowded. if they are too close together the escaping steam will steam the neighboring scallops and you wind up with the same rubber balls.
In a second fry pan start the sauce. Add the shallots, the curry, the vinegar, and the white wine. Turn on the burn to full heat. mix the ingredients by briskly sliding the pan back and forth across the burner grate. This motion is used all the time to mix in the pan.
Continue cooking sauce until it comes to a full boil and begins reducing.
flip the scallops.
They will begin to show color.
when the sauce has reduced to a syrup but still fluid use a fine Sieve to strain the sauce into another clean pan.
Don't trip over the dogs
In the new pan with the sieved sauce base return it to high heat. reduce more.
Flip the scallops again.
Keep moving them in the pan and flipping them until they are evenly caramelized. Move lighter colored ones to hotter parts of the pan and darker ones to the cooler parts until there is a nice even consistency. The beauty of this technique is that they are now perfectly cooked. seared beautifully on the outside and the center is just barely cooked slightly translucent.
When the sauce is about to become a syrup turn off the heat. Add the cold butter and with the same brisk back and forth motion swirl the butter as it melts into the sauce.
Add the cream and continue swirling...
Taste the sauce and make sure it is not too acidic. If it is add a touch more cream.
Plate, sauce and serve.
