It was a special day, so we celebrated with a fantastic fried scallop dinner. Why was the day so special? Large Sea Scallops were on sale at Fred Meyer, who frequently has super deals on seafood.
Peg and I love scallops. We usually order them at Pacific Grill in downtown Tacoma and The Lobster Shop on Ruston Way along the Tacoma waterfront. This time I bought a pound and a half for $9.99 a pound. I looked up a recipe for fried scallops and set our cast iron frying pan into action.
Pacific Grill was a casualty of COVID and the economy. We did order out from The Lobster Shop in November for a celebration of our wedding anniversary. Their scallops were wonderful. – thesubtimes.com/2020/11/22/ordering-out-and-the-lobster-shop-restaurant-review/
Peg invited my cousin, Lindy, to join us for a scallop dinner. This turned our evening dinner into a feast. Lindy made oven-baked Brussels sprouts and baby potatoes with olive oil, vinegar, and red onions. In addition we had over-baked potatoes and sour cream. Our salad featured fresh greens, a minced pear, red peppers, celery, raisins, honey-roasted peanuts, and a huge sliced radish with fresh squeezed lime juice. Dessert featured black berries, raspberries, and blueberries over slices of cranberry cake with a non-dairy ice cream that tasted like sweet cream.
The scallops were the featured fare of the evening. They were served on our colorful fish platter. I made one mistake. I used too much olive oil and not enough butter once I turned the scallops over, so they weren’t quite as brown as I would have liked, but . . . they melted in our mouth and created smiles on all three faces.
We lost Pacific Grill last year to COVID, and we lost Peg’s youngest sister, Kate to COPD in the fall. On a visit from Kate in 2015, Peg and I, her older sister Pat, and her sister Kate dined at Pacific Grill. It was a warm gathering . . . and featured scallops as well. We each ordered something different but Peg ordered scallops as her main dish. She told the rest of us they were a treat. So, we ordered two scallops in addition to our main dishes. She was right, the scallops were excellent. All the food was enjoyable, and so is the memory. – nwadventures.us/Pacific-Grill-Review-2015.html
Cindy says
Hi Don,
I really enjoy your tales of adventure in eating. Food is such a pleasure in life. I hope you don’t mind a suggestion should you make scallops again in your kitchen. Since scallops are such a watery shellfish, it helps to dry them as much as possible using paper towels before frying; but also to not crowd the pan. If you need to cook them in two batches, so be it. You’ll always attain a better sear with keeping the quantity very low during cooking. And only a small amount of butter to start. I see you’re using a cast iron skillet that is probably well seasoned, so I suspect sticking won’t be a problem. I’d only put a maximum of six at a time in that pan. You should have all kinds of fond to make a wonderful sauce after the scallops are finished cooked and during resting.
Also salting the scallops once they are out of the pan will help them retain that wonderful moisture and not lose it during the cooking process.
Food science! Bon appetite!
Cindy
Don Doman says
Cindy,
Thanks for the comment.
You are probably dead on with the crowding. I did pat the scallops. I salted and peppered before placing them in the skillet and then the other side when I turned them. I felt hurried though. Next time they are on sale, I go for the no crowding, less butter route.
Thanks for sharing. Yummy, yummy. Do you work as a cook or did?
Don
Cindy says
Hi Don,
I am a home “chef” who decided years ago to teach myself to cook the foods I love, especially seafood. I frequent Northern Fish Wholesale supplier and can cook a lobster tail to rival any restaurant. Recently, I’ve been following Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street TV show and magazine. So much flavor out there with using minimal salt. It’s a great adventure. And I really enjoy your restaurant reviews. We like hashbrowns like YOU like hashbrowns.
Happy chowing!
Cindy
Don Doman says
Cindy,
Burnt, burnt, burnt . . . and they generally still don’t deliver crispy. Right?
We stopped using salt sometime ago. We still have a grinder on the table, but only use it infrequently . . . like for scallops. We use Mrs Dash for salt, but my wife has a certain set that I mostly follow: Smokey Paprika, Tumeric, ground pepper, and a few others. Lobster . . . we both love it. When we stayed a week on Cape Cod I made it my mission to eat lobster twice a day . . . whether I needed it or not. You might enjoy our articles for a website we built for Roman Meal: live2agewell.com/.
Thanks for sharing.
Don