How dry should scallops be?

[paddyc]

I use dry-packed sea scallops. After they have thawed, I drain them and pat them dry. However, the moisture left in in them spatters big time when they hit the pan. I have avoided squeezing the moisture out of them for fear of them drying out. Is there a way to reduce spatter, or is it just part of searing them?

Paddy

[Robo410]

you are doing the right thing...there will be some spatter. Pan frying and sauteing are messy by comparison to stewing and braising.

[justplainbill]

Since some vendors soak scallops in water to increase their weight, you might try scallops from a different source.

[Jeff G.]

thaw them a bit earlier drain and let them set for a few minutes on something absorbent. That will remove the excess moisture without drying them out.

[GB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justplainbill Since some vendors soak scallops in water to increase their weight, you might try scallops from a different source.

The OP mentioned that the scallops are dry pack though which means they have not been soake in anything.

You are doing everything right. Do not squeeze them. Just pat them dry the best you can, but you don't have to get crazy about it. There will be some splatter, but that is OK.

[BreezyCooking]

Paddyc - I don't in any way mean to insult your intelligence, but are you absolutely sure that these are really "dry-pack" scallops?

I only ask because true "dry-pack" scallops (as in not soaked in water or the usual preservative solution) are somewhat delicate & command a very high price. As such, they're only offered fresh - not previously frozen/thawed - around here. And are bought up almost as soon as they hit the markets.

I'm not saying frozen dry-packs don't exist, just that both back in NY & here in VA I've never come across them. Freezing them just seems like a dumb thing for a vendor to do, because it really defeats the purpose of their specialness. In addition, while not all frozen seafood has moisture added, a lot does because freezing automatically removes some natural moisture from the product. And even with no added moisture, just the process of freezing/thawing will automatically release most any natural moisture left. The fresh dry-packs never splatter.

[GB]

I will agree in general with everything you said Breezy, with the exception of your last sentence. I only buy fresh dry packs. I get them from a very reputable local fish shop. I have bought probably on the order of 30lbs of dry pack scallops from them over the years. They have always been excellent quality and most certainly dry pack. They do splatter depending on how they are cooked. No matter how dry they are and how dry you get them there will be moisture that comes out. If you are cooking them on the stove top with some sort of fat then when that moisture does come out (even if it is a minimal amount, it will splatter.

[BreezyCooking]

GB, this will just have to be one of those "agreeing to disagree" moments - lol!!!

I've been buying dry-pack scallops for 20 years now (the luck of living most of my life on the waterfront), & while I've experimented with a number of recipes, my favorites still start with my searing the scallops in a hot cast-iron pan just "filmed" with extra-virgin olive oil. Never so much as a hint of an oil "splatter". Maybe the scallops I get are super dry - I don't know. But I'm not going to agree with you that all scallops - especially dry packs - will splatter when mine don't - lol!!! Oh, & the source I get my dry-pack sea scallops from also provide The Inn At Little Washington, so I'm sure I'm not getting an inferior product.

So - all I'll do is "agree to disagree".

Edited to add - maybe I'm using far less fat. I just "film" my cast-iron pan with extra-virgin olive oil. Just a light film. If I used more, maybe it would splatter.

[GB]

Well we certainly can agree to disagree. I have not lived most of my life on the waterfront. I have lived my entire life on the waterfront. I do not think that makes me an expert by any stretch of the imagination though. The scallops I get are so dry that when I take a paper towel to them just before putting them in the pan the paper towel does not get a drop of moisture on it. It actually sticks to the scallop as if there was glue on it (from the protein) and I have to peel it off. I no longer even bother patting them with a paper towel because it is pointless as it removes zero moisture.

Of course even though they are called "dry" pack scallops, we all know they are not really dry. If they were then no one would want to eat them. We also know that when a protein hits heat it contracts and squeezes moisture that was inside to the outside. We also know that when moisture hits hot fat it sizzles. I am not saying that you have not experienced non-sizzling scallops, but I am saying that I have have experienced sizzling dry packs so your blanket statement of "the fresh dry packs never sizzle" is not accurate.

[BreezyCooking]

Whatever, GB. Really. That's why I SAID "agree to disagree". Do you know what that means? Lol!!! It means "cease & desist" & agree to differing opinions.

I'll stick by my 40 years at the seaside - where I was born & didn't move from until 12 years ago. And I'm not blind, deaf, or dumb. The dry-pack scallops I purchase do NOT "SPLATTER" (notice I didn't say "sizzle", like you misquoted - good friggin grief - EVERYTHING "sizzles" LOL LOL LOL) the way I cook them. Sorry - mind still don't "splatter". Wanna come over & listen? LOL!!!

Really - I called a truce. We will not agree. What's the problem?