Nutrition
| Fats | % DV* |
| Total Fat 19g | 24% |
| Saturated Fat 8.4g | 42% |
| Trans Fat 0.5g | |
| Monounsaturated Fat 8g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2g | |
| Cholesterol 71mg | 24% |
| Sodium 1,210mg | 53% |
| Carbs, Protein & Micronutrients | % DV* |
| Total Carbohydrate 6g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% |
| Total Sugars <1g | |
| Protein 21g | 42% |
| Vitamin B12 2.4mcg | 100% |
| Selenium 22mcg | 40% |
| Phosphorus 570mg | 46% |
Ingredients
- 12oz (8 to 10) Wild Japanese Hokkaido sea scallops, extra large, dryFeatured
- 1 tbsp Avocado oil or another neutral high-heat oil
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter, cold, cut in two pieces
- 1 clove Garlic, lightly smashed
- 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for the table
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Lava Icelandic Sea Salt, to finish
- 1 tbsp Chives, thinly sliced
Preparation
- Thaw the sealed bag overnight in the fridge, never on the counter.
- Pull the small side muscle off each scallop.
- Rinse only if you see grit, then blot immediately.
- Rest them on paper towels, uncovered, in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Cut the butter into two cold pieces and smash the garlic clove.
- Set out a 12-inch stainless or cast iron pan, tongs, and a warm landing plate.
How to Cook
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Dry, then season
Take the scallops out of the fridge and press each one between fresh paper towels. Then do it again. The surface should look matte, with no shine at all. Season the top side with half the kosher salt. Leave the pan side unsalted until it is on the heat, because salt starts pulling water out within a minute, and a wet pan side is exactly what you have spent 30 minutes avoiding. Set them on a dry plate in the order you plan to lay them down, so the first one in is the first one flipped.
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Heat the pan hard
Set the pan over high heat for two to three minutes, then add the oil. It should shimmer and send up the first faint wisp of smoke almost immediately. That is your signal. Lay the scallops in clockwise from the handle, flat side down, not touching. Press each one gently with a spatula for two seconds so the whole face meets the metal, then salt the exposed tops. You should hear a sharp, dry sizzle. A wet hiss with liquid bubbling around the base means they were not dry enough.
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Do not touch for 90 seconds
Leave them alone. Do not slide, shake, or peek for 90 seconds. A crust forms when the surface stays put against hot metal long enough to brown, and every nudge resets the clock. At 90 seconds, lift the edge of the first scallop with tongs. You want a deep golden brown, the color of a good croissant. If it is pale, give it 20 more seconds. Flip in the same clockwise order. The seared side should release with no resistance; if it sticks, it is not finished browning. Cook the second side 60 to 90 seconds.
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Butter baste and pull
With about a minute left, drop in the cold butter and the garlic. Tilt the pan so the butter pools and spoon it over the scallops as it foams. Pull them when an instant-read thermometer in the center reads 125F to 130F. Without a thermometer, look at the side: the edges are opaque with a faint translucent band at the very center, and the scallop springs back like the base of your thumb. Move them to the warm plate, add the lemon juice to the pan off the heat, swirl, and spoon the pan butter over. Rest one minute, then finish with black lava salt and chives.
How to Serve
Serve within two minutes of leaving the pan. Scallops keep cooking on a warm plate, and the gap between a perfect center and a rubbery one is under a minute of carryover heat. Plate them crust side up so the color shows, spoon the lemon butter around rather than over them so the crust stays crisp, and put a few black lava crystals on each one where the light catches. Eight to ten seared scallops for two is a main course, not a garnish.
- Warm the plates in a low oven for five minutes. A cold plate pulls heat out of a small piece of protein fast.
- Crust side up, always. The seared face is the whole point, so do not bury it under sauce or greens.
- Cut one scallop in half at the table. A pearly, just-opaque center is what the 30 minutes of drying bought you.
What to serve it with. Scallops turn sweet and rich once they meet butter, so the plate wants acid, a little bitterness, or a clean starch to sit against. Four that work:
- A soft parmesan risotto or buttered pearl couscous, so the pan butter has somewhere to go.
- Sauteed spinach or blistered green beans with lemon zest, cooked in the same pan after the scallops come out.
- Corn or pea puree in summer. Sweet on sweet works when the scallops carry a hard crust.
- A crisp, dry white such as Muscadet, Chablis, or a dry Riesling. Skip oaky wines, which fight shellfish.
