Cooking scallops


Cooking scallops
We are, as I write these lines, in the season of the scallops, if you like that it is necessary to benefit from it as much as possible, although it is alas not cheap.

I like scallops a lot, but I have to admit that it has naturally little taste, or, said differently, it takes the taste of what you cook it in, but it takes it well!

That's why cooking scallops with cream of sorrel for example, started in butter if possible, is absolutely delicious because the scallop, or rather the nut, goes very well with its sauce and the cooking material.
11 K 5/5 (13 reviews)
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:CookingScallopsShellShellfishSeafoodPlanchaGrilledOven
Last modified on: November 23th 2021
For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend
Cooking scallops
If you prepare them, whatever the recipe, you will sooner or later be confronted with the problem of cooking.

And that's normal, that's the difficulty of preparation, and there are two main ways:

saint jacques cuisson nacrée

1) The "we hardly cook", to keep the pearly scallop inside, they are also often followers of the scallop carpaccio, the scallop cut into thin strips and served raw, with a dash of lemon and/or oil.
It is cooked on a hot surface without excess, or even in the oven, to preserve the pearly side already mentioned.
Of course they think that going further in cooking is a heresy, this school is very present in the chic restaurants.
At Robuchon's, in one of his books, the scallops are only cooked for 2 minutes in the oven.
Well, I don't hide from you that I have trouble with these short cooking times, but it is a school that respects itself.


saint jacques cuisson grillée

2) the "on saisit très chaud" (very hot), are adapted from a hot cooking surface (frying pan, plancha, griddle), on which the nuts are seared (butter or oil) for 2 or 3 minutes on each side to obtain a nice colour.
The "burning" side plus "each side" gives very colorful and tasty nuts, but let's not forget the butter. By the way, the plancha is ideal for this cooking.
It should be done quickly if possible, otherwise an overcooked scallop becomes hard as a tennis ball.

Of course these are not the only cooking methods, you can consider many others such as in papillotes or poached for example, you just have to keep in mind that the scallops must be cooked, but not too much ...

Then, and whatever the chosen method, you have to think about 3 things:
1) Rinse the nuts well
2) Remove the "foot" (small hard part on the side of the scallop)
3) Dry the nuts (paper towel or cloth), top and bottom, before cooking them.
This is not always easy, but remember that you need "dry" nuts to start cooking, it always works better.

saint jacques corail

You may also wonder if you should keep the "coral", the orange part of the shell that is attached to the scallop?
It's just a question of taste, personally I find it a bit dull and not very interesting, I don't keep them, but that's debatable.
In some old recipes, a bit dated, the coral is used separately to constitute a sauce base, a bit like a thickener, but it's the same observation, not much gustatory interest, rather aesthetic.

To sum up: cooking scallops is always a delicate matter, you have to be precise and relatively quick.

Lasts posts
The grease spray
The grease spray
As soon as you have something in a recipe that sticks to the mold, the question always arises as to how difficult it is to remove from the mold. There's nothing more frustrating than breaking your cake when unmolding it, because part of it has stuck in the mold. The classic way to avoid this is...
August 26th 20251,3085
Cake moulds
Cake moulds
When we make a cake, or a cake of the same rectangular shape, we usually take out our usual mould and tell ourselves that the recipe is anyway "for a cake", but is it really that simple?
August 25th 20253,8905
Thinning out herbs
Thinning out herbs
If you need to add a long-stemmed herb (tarragon, mint, verbena, thyme, etc.) to a recipe, you'll probably only need the leaves and not the stem, so you'll need to remove the leaves. Leaf removal means keeping only the beautiful leaves, and eliminating the ugly stems and leaves, but how do you do...
August 8th 20252,1035
Add a bay leaf
Add a bay leaf
Bay leaf: small in size, but big in flavor. You'll find it in hundreds of recipes, and it's often added to cooking meat, in a sauce or broth, usually accompanied by other herbs or products. It's a staple of Provençal, Mediterranean and Oriental cuisine, but not the only one. Usually, in a...
July 31th 20252,2085
Parsley stems
Parsley stems
Parsley, whether curly or flat, is a delicious ingredient in many recipes, where it is used both raw and cooked. When used raw, in a salad for example, where it always provides, alone or with other herbs, a remarkable freshness, only the leaves are kept. And when used cooked?
July 28th 20252,393 13

Other pages you may also like
The grease spray
The grease spray
As soon as you have something in a recipe that sticks to the mold, the question always arises as to how difficult it is to remove from the mold. There's nothing more frustrating than breaking your cake when unmolding it, because part of it has stuck in the mold. The classic way to avoid this is...
August 26th 20251,3085
The window-pane test in bread-making
The window-pane test in bread-making
The home bread-makers often ask themselves “Have I kneaded my dough long enough?” . A good question, as dough that is insufficiently kneaded will not rise properly or will fall flat when the top is slashed, which is very frustrating. To know when the dough is ready, one can rely on the length...
June 16th 202193 K 23.9
A few tips for effective kneading at home
A few tips for effective kneading at home
When you have to knead dough for bread or some other recipe, you may well use a food processor or the type of machine known as a stand mixer. The best-known brands are Kenwood and KitchenAid. They are useful tools, but here are a few tips to help you get the best out of them.
June 23th 2021279 K 23.7
The art of the charlotte
The art of the charlotte
In cooking, a charlotte is a delicious moulded dessert, with biscuits around the outside that have been soaked in a flavoured syrup, filled with a light cream or mousse. The charlotte is left to set in the fridge before being turned out and served in slices. It is very light and a lovely sweet...
February 27th 201343 K4.3
The Holy Grail of French bakers
The Holy Grail of French bakers
While browsing through the recipes on this site, you may have noticed that while I adore cooking (everything, in fact, to do with eating and drinking), I am particularly drawn to bakery: bread, viennoiseries and all that goes with them – it’s a real passion of mine; I love making them and I...
March 24th 201818 K 34.7
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page