Sous vide scallop recipe?

[Kenny_H]

@ybarselah

the secret to scallops at home is 20 minutes in brine, then dry on a wire rack in the fridge. this work best for larger scallops (u10 or so). hard sear in neutral oil and then butter baste, don’t need to ever flip.

+1. technically this is best practice; a dry brine being the fundamental technique.

sugar or flour? that makes me cringe. you want maillard of scallop, not a confection.

if you salt ahead as you should and sous vide you have accomplished the brine, then you all you are left to do is dry them. get that cast iron going and be a champion. there is no need to flip.

[Victor_Hong]

Sugar is core to the Maillard reaction.

What is the Maillard Reaction

[Kenny_H]

@Victor Hong

Sugar is core to the Maillard reaction.

What is the Maillard Reaction

Well come on, we all know that. But you are conveniently not mentioning proteins.

Do you mean to tell us that maillard of scallop tastes the same as maillard of steak?

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

@ybarselah

the secret to scallops at home is 20 minutes in brine, then dry on a wire rack in the fridge. this work best for larger scallops (u10 or so). hard sear in neutral oil and then butter baste, don’t need to ever flip.

I’ve never tried that. How long do you let them dry in the fridge on a rack?

Bruce

[ybarselah]

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

@ybarselah

the secret to scallops at home is 20 minutes in brine, then dry on a wire rack in the fridge. this work best for larger scallops (u10 or so). hard sear in neutral oil and then butter baste, don’t need to ever flip.

I’ve never tried that. How long do you let them dry in the fridge on a rack?

Bruce

as long as it takes, but the brine helps firm up the outside. goal is to get them completely dry, like any other lean protein that you’re searing.

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

@ybarselah

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

@ybarselah

the secret to scallops at home is 20 minutes in brine, then dry on a wire rack in the fridge. this work best for larger scallops (u10 or so). hard sear in neutral oil and then butter baste, don’t need to ever flip.

I’ve never tried that. How long do you let them dry in the fridge on a rack?

Bruce

as long as it takes, but the brine helps firm up the outside. goal is to get them completely dry, like any other lean protein that you’re searing.

But generally is it 30 minutes? A few hours? Overnight? Just trying to get some general sense of timing for pre-cooking prep.

Bruc

[Kenny_H]

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

But generally is it 30 minutes? A few hours? Overnight? Just trying to get some general sense of timing for pre-cooking prep.

Bruce

Not to steal any Yaacov thunder, but I can opine a bit.

That depends a lot on how well you dry the scallop prior to salting and also the refrigerator you use. Let us assume you dry as best you can which you should. In that case it is 2-4 hours, maybe all day at most (8hrs) if it is pulled from a water bath, but it is not an overnight thing. There are a couple things working against you in this case. Salt will cure seafood much quicker than any other meat, and temps in the 38* plus range will also negatively affect the scallop because seafood breaks down at much lower temperatures than land based meat. Both the salt and temp can result with issues of texture, particularly a tough surface, but also a rubbery interior.

So as Yaacov says, as long as it takes. You need to be able to assess dryness by visual. I think the timeframes I gave will get you in the ballpark. Up to the user to experiment.

[Rob_Isaacs]

A mix of 5 parts salt to 2 parts sugar works very well. Sprinkle it all over the scallops and let them sit for about ten minutes, until they start to release some moisture. Wash the salt/sugar mixture off and cook them at 122 degrees for around 15 to 20 minutes with some good olive oil in the bag. Cool them down in a ice bath and hold in the fridge until you are ready to sear. You don’t want to sear them right out of the water bath, to easy to overcook them that way. They are also delicious cold.

[Victor_Hong]

@Rob Isaacs

A mix of 5 parts salt to 2 parts sugar works very well. Sprinkle it all over the scallops and let them sit for about ten minutes, until they start to release some moisture. Wash the salt/sugar mixture off and cook them at 122 degrees for around 15 to 20 minutes with some good olive oil in the bag. Cool them down in a ice bath and hold in the fridge until you are ready to sear. You don’t want to sear them right out of the water bath, to easy to overcook them that way. They are also delicious cold.

So much for the sugar skeptics…

[Kenny_H]

@Victor Hong

@Rob Isaacs

A mix of 5 parts salt to 2 parts sugar works very well. Sprinkle it all over the scallops and let them sit for about ten minutes, until they start to release some moisture. Wash the salt/sugar mixture off and cook them at 122 degrees for around 15 to 20 minutes with some good olive oil in the bag. Cool them down in a ice bath and hold in the fridge until you are ready to sear. You don’t want to sear them right out of the water bath, to easy to overcook them that way. They are also delicious cold.

So much for the sugar skeptics…

Wrong. Still skeptical.

[Rob_Isaacs]

The sugar is there to balance out the salt, not for any maillard reaction benefit. Try it out, do a side by side. I think it makes the protein taste evenly seasoned and not just salty, hope that makes sense. It works well on chicken, pork and any fish.

[Kenny_H]

@Rob Isaacs

The sugar is there to balance out the salt, not for any maillard reaction benefit. Try it out, do a side by side. I think it makes the protein taste evenly seasoned and not just salty, hope that makes sense. It works well on chicken, pork and any fish.

I am sure it works, it is standard brine technique.

My main hang up is adding sugar to something for no good reason when it is clear it can be done without.

So… onto my flour objection.

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

Who knew scallops could be so controversial?

Bruce

[Kenny_H]

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

Who knew scallops could be so controversial?

Bruce

Have you been to the hobby forum with lawyers on it?

[Victor_Hong]

Worse than fighting about roasted and skewered Negam-Aki!

[Patrick_Keigan]

I think the most important thing is to make sure they are dry. Last time I used the Sous Vide, I seasoned before bagging, cooked at 125 for about 45 minutes, pulled from bag, dried and reseasoned. They had an amazing texture.

[Rob_Isaacs]

@Kenny H

@Rob Isaacs

The sugar is there to balance out the salt, not for any maillard reaction benefit. Try it out, do a side by side. I think it makes the protein taste evenly seasoned and not just salty, hope that makes sense. It works well on chicken, pork and any fish.

I am sure it works, it is standard brine technique.

My main hang up is adding sugar to something for no good reason when it is clear it can be done without.

So… onto my flour objection.

The sugar isn’t there to make it more sweet, just for a more balanced light cure, it really does add something more to the dish than just using salt. I keep a container of the blend on hand and use it all the time. As for flour, I have no idea why anyone would put flour on scallops before searing them.

[Victor_Hong]

Burnt flour tastes…uh…great, I guess.

Note that proteins and sugars can caramelize, but not flour.

[ybarselah]

20 minutes in the brine solution (very salty ice water - i don’t measure it) and then pat dry with a towel and put on wire rack. it gets dry rather quickly - maybe 15-20 minutes. should be tacky to the touch.

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

@ybarselah

20 minutes in the brine solution (very salty ice water - i don’t measure it) and then pat dry with a towel and put on wire rack. it gets dry rather quickly - maybe 15-20 minutes. should be tacky to the touch.

Thanks!

Bruce