Recipe for scallops sous vide
Delicious, flavorful scallops that have developed a sear in a hot pan after a trip through the sous vide/water bath beforehand.
I openly admit that I was skeptical prior, as scallops are generally perfectly cooked in a short time on the pan.
But I love my magic water bath and always have to try almost everything based on the premise: #canitsousvide or not.
I love scallops today and still remember the first time I tasted them. It was about 15 years ago at the Aarhus-based Restaurant Dauphine, where a piece of bacon was wrapped around them. Bacon gave me the courage to taste them, and I have certainly not regretted it.
When I first tried making them myself, I remember my local fishmonger gave me the trick of drying them well and adding a bit of sugar on top along with salt. That would help create a beautiful caramelized sear, and I’ve been using that trick ever since.
However, I don’t think these got as nice a sear as they usually do—perhaps because I didn’t dare cook them for too long, as they were already cooked after their trip in the water bath. But the flavor was spot on.
Scallops sous vide
Equipment
- Sous Vide
- Cutting Board
- Chef'S Knife
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 4 pcs. Scallops
- Salt
- Sugar
- Ghee or butter/oil for frying
Instructions
- Start by removing the abductor muscle from the scallops.
- They can be used to make broth.
- Season the meat with a little salt.
- Vacuum pack the scallops. Make sure there is some space between them and if your vacuum sealer has a "soft pressure" function or similar, use it so they do not get pressed thinner.
- Cook them in your sous vide/water bath for 30 minutes at 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
- After the 30 minutes, take them out of the bag and pat them as dry as possible - feel free to use a clean tea towel.
- Sprinkle a little sugar on just before frying, on the side that will go down on the pan first.
- Regarding frying, it is important that your pan is as hot as possible.
- Heat it up to very high and add oil right before you place your scallops on.
- When the scallops are on the pan, add butter. Give them a maximum of 30 seconds on each side.
- If you have ghee, you can just add it along with the scallops.
- Take them off the pan and preferably place them briefly on a tea towel/paper towel and give them a pinch of flaky salt.
- Bon appétit.