Just went to Whole Foods today and wanted to try to cook something from the sea.  I prefer meat and chicken, but my husband and eldest son enjoy seafood and I want everyone happy!  There were 2 women at the seafood counter who were an amazing help and shared with me the trick to perfect scallops which I tried and it worked perfectly.  Thanks ladies for sharing all your secrets and letting me Blog about it, you rock!

Special Equipment:  If possible, use a cast iron pan, second choice would be a skillet that is not non stick.

Ingredients

Small amount of canola oil (enough to wipe a layer of it on the pan)

Large Scallops

Raw Scallops

Secret:  The scallops that have a yellowish, almost peach tone to them are the female scallops.  They are colored this way as they are surround by roe.  The white scallops are the males or the females that have not yet matured.  People don’t always know this, but the “girls” tend to be tastier!

Fresh ground salt and pepper

Put the layer of oil in the pan using a paper towel to wipe it around evenly.  Heat the pan on high.  While the pan is warming up rinse the scallops.   DRY THEM WELL!  I used a paper towel to thoroughly dry all sides of the scallops.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.  Put the scallops right into the hot pan.

Tip:  Do NOT turn the heat lower until all of the scallops are cooked and removed or they will leak water and stop caramelizing!

Leave space around each scallop allowing it to get maximum heat.

Starting to caramelize the scallops

Two minutes on the first side should caramelize the scallops.  The scallop will talk to you and let you know when it is time to turn it.  If you try to flip it with your tongs and it sticks at all it is not ready to turn!

Brown both sides, will be about 2 minutes per side, then serve. with some lemon juice squeezed on top.

Best served with rice and lemon bean surprise or peas, can lay them on top of some vodka sauce or pesto instead of the lemon for a more rich twist