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Simple Recipes for Pan Fried Scallops
This is one of the simplest scallop recipes ever and you will only need seven ingredients to make it. Learning how to cook scallops is very straightforward and it is a shame that many people never try making scallop recipes or any other seafood recipes unless they are using cooked shellfish or seafood to make them. Scallops simply need to be sautéed for a few minutes. You can also grill them but do keep an eye on your scallops while they are cooking because if you burn them you will have to cook more and they can burn quickly.
Most seafood cooks quickly and cooking scallops is no exception. Whether you opt for broiled scallops, a pan fried scallops dish or another kind of scallop recipe you will find most of them to be easy to prepare and very successful. Why not buy some scallops the next time you are in the store wondering what to make for dinner or thinking about easy recipes for a dinner party?
In the following recipe, the scallops are coated in paprika-spiced breadcrumbs and then sautéed in butter. You make an easy sauce using wine and butter and serve this with the scallops. How easy is that? You can see from this pan fried scallops recipe that scallops are really simple to cook. They do not cost too much either because usually when you prepare scallop recipes either they are appetizers, and therefore not very big portions, or the scallops are just one component of a larger meal. You would not serve a dinner plate full of scallops, for example.
Pan Fried Sea Scallops Recipe
Ingredients -
1 ½ lb sea scallops
1 ½ cup breadcrumbs
⅛ teaspoon paprika
¼ white wine
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup butter
Preparation:
Combine the paprika, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Rinse the scallops and roll them in this mixture. Heat the butter in a large frying pan until frothy. Add the scallops.
Sauté until lightly browned. Remove the scallops and set aside. Add the wine to the butter in the frying pan. Boil gently for a minute, stirring continually. Place the scallops in their shells and pour over the wine mixture.
(Serves 4)
Wine Suggestion:
What Wine Goes with Recipes for Pan Fried Scallops
Chardonnay has a rich, clean flavor and therefore pairs well with scallops in breadcrumbs or natural scallops. Of course if you were to make scallops in a spicy sauce or an acidic sauce you would have to rethink the wine pairing but as it is, Chardonnay is beautiful with this easy pan fried scallops recipe.
Photo Description:
Scallops are considered a real treat because they are not the kind of food we eat every day. There are however many different scallop recipes to try if you enjoy the unique flavor of this special type of seafood. What about sea scallops in a chowder or broiled scallops with a healthy salad? This recipe for breadcrumb-coated scallops served on shells makes the seafood look very appetizing and attractive. Do not worry if you do not have the shells. You can serve them just as they are or with some salad on the side as a garnish.
Different Types of Scallops
There are three main kinds of scallops - bay scallops, sea scallops and calico scallops. Bay scallops are small and very soft. They have a very sweet flavor. Sea scallops are also tasty and you can make lots of recipes for pan friend scallops and pan fried sea scallops with those. Calico scallops are fished in warmer water off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and also in South and Central America. You need to steam calico scallops to get the shells open. They are very small and it can be hard to keep them tender and not overcook them.
Calico scallops are not as sweet as bay scallops although unscrupulous fishmongers might try to sell them as bay scallops. Be careful if all the scallops in a pack are an identical size. That might mean they are big, less tender scallops which have been trimmed to resemble bay scallops or worse still they might be shark meat. You can also get honestly labeled imitation scallops if you want something similar to scallops but cheaper.
How to Cook Them
The whole scallop inside the shell is edible, much like an oyster or clam. The most commonly sold part of the scallop though is the adductor muscle which is the part which hinges the two shell halves together. Regular scallops range from three to four inches in diameter (their shell size) but you can get huge ones further north which can grow up to six inches across. Scallop roe has a striking color and creamy flavor.
You can slice big scallops in half but smaller ones are usually cooked whole. One or two minutes is usually enough to poach, grill or deep fry a scallop, or two to three minutes if you are sautéing them.
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