Why don't my scallops sear properly?

[dmb88886]

Hi, i'm new to this forum, first post.

I made scallops last night, and for the 2nd time this happened to me. I go to sear it (used a stainless steel pan) on a pretty high temperature and they started out searing nicely on the first side, and I flipped them over, and next thing you know all this juice comes out of the scallops and there is a ton of juice in the bottom of the pan and can no longer be seared. All I did was toss the scallops with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. I also did pat them dry after rinsing them.

I remember last time I tried cooking scallops the same thing happeend.

Anybody have a clue as to why?

[Andy M.]

Welcome to DC.

Most scallops are impregnated with a liquid solution. When you try to sear, the liquid is squeezed out of the scallops giving you the liquid in the pan.

Look for dry scallops. They don't have any added liquid and sear beautifully.

If you're cooking the smaller bay scallops, I don't know if they are available dry. The larger sea scallops are.

[dmb88886]

Thanks!

Is there a trick in case they aren't dry to help get rid of that liquid? I'd guess not.

[Andy M.]

If there's a trick, I don't know it. If you like scallops, it's worth seeking out the dry ones and paying extra for them.

[dmb88886]

Hmm, now this is interesting. I order my groceries from freshdirect in new york. I just went to their site and it says I ordered dry scallops and they won't even seem to offer non-dry. I'll have to call them.

[Andy M.]

I just checked out their website and they are advertised as dry.

Another possibility is that your pan is not hot enough or that you are putting too many scallops into the pan at one time, causing the heat in the pan to drop and take too long to recover.

If either is a possibiity, try using a larger pan and getting it hot before adding the scallops.

[dmb88886]

Yeah, I don't think I overcrowded too much and the heat was very high. They came sitting in a white liquid, is that normal for dry?

[Andy M.]

Yes. Even dry scallops will give up a little liquid. Do you dry the scallops off before putting them into the hot pan?

[dmb88886]

Yep, I patted dry with paper towels. I mean there was a lot of liquid in the pan. The scallops didn't have a ton of room in the pan, but they weren't touching or even that close to touching. I'd say maybe a half inch between scallops.

[Andy M.]

I noticed the freshdirect website didn't list any ingredients for the scallops. Check the package for ingredients next time you buy.