Best Sea Scallops Cooked In Their Shells Recipes

SCALLOPS IN SHELLS

Steps:

• Place water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; add scallops and poach, uncovered, 6 minutes or until firm and opaque. Drain scallops, reserving 1 cup liquid., Sprinkle scallops with salt. In a large skillet, saute mushrooms and shallots in butter until tender. Add scallops; cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and set aside., For sauce, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk and reserved poaching liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese, sherry, salt, lemon juice, pepper and lemon zest; add to skillet., Preheat oven to 375°. Divide scallop mixture among eight scallop shells. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter; sprinkle over tops. Place on an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 8-12 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown.

SEARED SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Remove the small side muscle from the scallops, rinse with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
• Add the butter and oil to a 12 to 14-inch saute pan on high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops. Once the fat begins to smoke, gently add the scallops, making sure they are not touching each other. Sear the scallops for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. The scallops should have a 1/4-inch golden crust on each side while still being translucent in the center. Serve immediately.

SEA SCALLOPS COOKED IN THEIR SHELLS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the garlic and 2/3 cup of the oil and cook over very low heat for 2 hours. Cool, discard the oil and set the garlic aside.
• Using a sharp knife, peel away 1/4-inch-thick strips of skin from the zucchini. Discard the core and cut the skin into 1/4-inch dice.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the zucchini, pepper, leeks, carrots, celery and onions until they just begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
• In a blender, puree the stock and reserved garlic until smooth. Pour the stock over the vegetables, add the lemons, sun-dried tomatoes, avocados, vinegar and remaining 2 1/3 tablespoons of olive oil and mix. Season with salt.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If using scallops in their shells, discard the top (flat) shell of each scallop and remove the guts, leaving only the white, round muscle. (It should still be attached to the shell.) Run cold water over each scallop, pat dry and place the scallops on baking sheets. (If using scallops already out of the shells, rinse them and place each one in a small ramekin, cleaned shell or ovenproof dish.) Sprinkle the scallops with salt and arrange a heaping tablespoon of the vegetable mixture so that it surrounds but does not cover the scallop.
• Bake until the scallops are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Brush each scallop with olive oil and serve immediately.

SCALLOPS ON THE HALF SHELL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove the side muscles from the scallops and rinse with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
• Melt the butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and toss in the bread crumbs until well combined. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, toss together the tomato, parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Evenly divide the tomato mixture between 4 oven proof ramekins or scallop shells. Place the scallops over the tomato mixture and top with the cracker or bread crumbs. Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

SCALLOPS STEAMED IN THEIR SHELLS

Steps:

• Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and salt and cook until very soft but not brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Scrub the scallop shells well. With a thin, sharp knife, pry open the shell, slip the knife inside and cut through the large white muscle tab to release one side of the shell. Open the shell fully and pull out and discard everything but the white muscle and the reddish roe. Rinse under cold running water to remove all grit. Pat inside and outside of shells dry. Repeat with the remaining scallops.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the pastry and cut into 12 strips, 1 by 13 inches long. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
• Place some of the leek mixture and 1 teaspoon of butter into each scallop shell. Use a strip of pastry to seal the shells tightly shut. Leave no gaps. Brush the dough with the egg yolks beaten with 1 teaspoon water. (If you can't get scallops in their shells, use 12 large sea scallops and place them in 12 scallop shells, available from kitchen-supply stores.) Scallops can also be baked with their shells tightly wrapped in aluminum foil.
• Spread kosher salt evenly on two baking sheets, nestle the shells in the salt and bake 13 minutes, or until pastry is browned and puffed. Serve immediately on warm plates.

SEARED SEA SCALLOPS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, oregano, thyme and lemon pepper. Roll scallops in flour mixture until lightly coated on all sides.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet or frying pan over high heat. Add 4 scallops to the pan and sear on all sides (about 2 minutes for each side). After turning scallops, add 1 tablespoon parsley and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Remove scallops from pan and place on a plate in the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
• Repeat until remaining scallops are cooked, tossing each batch with parsley and lemon juice.