Grilled Bay Scallops?

[JonM]

I stopped at the store to grab some lunch stuff and saw that they have really big bay scallops for super cheap. These suckers are almost as big as sea scallops, so I picked up a half pound and a half pound of shrimp.

The plan is to grill them on the weber kettle tonight, but I've never cooked scallops - bay or sea - ever.

My thought is to set up an indirect fire on the outer area of the grill so there's an indirect zone in the middle (just how I do for sausages and thin pieces of fish.). I'll probably put my cast iron dish in the middle, let it heat up and then put the scallops right in there (scallops will be oiled and salted) turning as necessary.

I'm a pro with shrimp, and they will just go right over the coals on skewers. I thought about putting the scallops on skewers too, but I'm afraid they'd fall apart.

Anyway, any thoughts appreciated. Thanks!

 

[bbohanon]

For an easy way to grill em:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/grilled-scallops-recipe.html

The other way is to grill em on a cedar plank..That works well also.

Scallops on the grill are gooooooooooooooooooooood.
:rockin:

 

[JonM]

Nice! Thanks!

 

[Homercidal]

Never had them. Always been curious. We don't get much "sea" food here unless you go out of your way to find it and find a recipe. Our seafood is usually "lake" food...

 

[bobbrews]

You will have to skewer the bay scallops, too. They are small enough to fall in between the grill grates.

Cook over direct fire, not too high. Be sure to thoroughly rub with oil and season well with kosher or sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. They will cook in no time, but give them a chance to develop a sear before you flip them or they will stick to the grill. Once you flip them, give them another 30 seconds or so and they will be done. Total cooking time shouldn't exceed 2 minutes for those suckers.

If you want to be extra fancy, here is an excellent puree that goes with Scallops:

Coconut Carrot Ginger Puree

1 each yellow onion, sliced
1 each fennel bulb, sliced
1 small potato, peeled, coin cut
2" piece ginger, peeled, coin cut
3 each extra large carrots, sliced
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup sake

1) Sweat vegetables over medium heat for 5 minutes, ensuring no color or caramelization.
2) Deglaze with sake and cook 3 minutes more.
3) Deglaze with veg stock and add coconut milk.
4) Cook over low heat until vegetables are soft.
5) Puree until very smooth. Keep warm and use immediately or quickly cool and freeze.

Serve with grilled scallops, grilled Shiitake mushrooms, minced chives, chopped cilantro, and lime zest scented Jasmine Rice.

 

[JonM]

When they're done right, they're awesome - sweet, tender, and wonderfully flavorful.

When they're not done right, they're stringy little hockey pucks.

 

[JonM]

Hmm - I just had an idea. There's quite a bit of these things in a 1/2 lb, so I think I'll do some experimenting. I'll put some on skewers right over medium-hot coals, and the rest I'll basically sautée with butter in the cast iron dish over indirect heat. We'll see which is the winner.

 

[bobbrews]

For sauteeing scallops, always start with 1) well-oiled, well seasoned scallops, 2) a hot pan 3) a little bit of oil added to the hot pan. If you add too much oil, your scallops will shallow fry instead of saute. If you add butter in the beginning, the butter will "steam" the scallops and/or turn into brown butter. Always add a knob of butter at the end when the heat is turned off.

The result should be golden brown on the outside, tender on the inside, melt in your mouth scallops.


Another method would be to try Ceviche.

 

[JonM]

That's awesome! Thanks!

EDIT: and that purée looks really good.

 

[JonM]

Well, it was mostly a success. The ones on the skewers were very good (and only one fell off). The ones in the iron dish were good too, but the scallops gave up SO MUCH liquid as they cooked that it was more like poaching than anything else. The ones on the skewers were much better. Either way, they were cooked in a matter of minutes.

Next time, I think I'll find a way to elevate the skewers just a little bit so that the scallops aren't in direct contact with the grill grate. That way they will be less likely to stick and fall off the skewers, but still get the benefit of the over-the-coals cooking. Thanks for all the tips!

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

bobbrews is correct. There's ceviche so undercooking isn't bad if they're fresh. Plus they'll keep cooking once they're taken off the grill with the water content. It's like pan frying steak. They'll cook quick but you need to be patient before you flip them. Just when you think you want to flip them give them another minute and then another minute on the other side. Use one of them as an experiment. If you have a well seasoned grill they shouldn't stick. I use tongs or skewers that are blade like so they won't tear. I picked up a lazy drinking mans fix at store that had a meatball basket. I Alton Brown on the multi tool aspect and it works well with grilling oysters too. In the end with tongs and patience you should do ok. It's a zen state.