Yet another basic black dress: scallops

The other day, I was reading through some of the older entries in this log, just to make sure I don't repeat myself too much, and contradict myself even less (although I do do both of those throughout. Welcome to the world of cooking). I was also looking for "themes" that weren't planned, that have come out. And one of them, I found, was a search for what I'm calling "basic black dresses" of the kitchen.

The (biological) women who read this will know what I mean. Ladies are taught that they need at least one "basic black dress," that they can accessorize with many things, so that depending on the circumstances, they can still look good, look right, and feel individual.

In cooking, there are a number of them. Roast chicken, for example. Or a quick grilled steak. For folks like yours truly, pasta with tomato sauce. And scallops.

There is something vaguely "extravagant" associated with scallops. They don't seem to rise to the level of lobster in people's eyes, but somehow, they seem fancier than, say, a flounder filet, or striped bass, even though ultimately, the price point for these guys is just about the same. I know that in San Francisco, restaurants are pushing scallops on us constantly, and I guess that's because in Northern California, they are really special, since scallops are not all that indigenous to that part of the world. In the North Atlantic states, we have one up on the Bay Area there: you can just about always get scallops, from Maine , all the way down to Maryland. There are disputes as to whether or not the way they are caught is doing damage to the seafloor bottom, and I cannot tell you how to come down on that one. I DO suggest that you read up on the literature and make your own decisions. I DO know that there hasn't been any danger of a population crisis with scallops, and that you can just about always find them. What kind you buy, however, is important, and I want to talk about that for a minute.

When scallops are trawled, by big boats, they are shucked, and stored in a preserving solution, for days, sometimes a week and a half. This preserving solution does damage the scallop meat somewhat, (it's a muscle), and the liquid gets into the scallop. It bleaches it, and it softens it, and the scallops pick up a whole lot of liquid. When you cook these scallops, your fish will be bathed in juice, and that's not good. Your scallops will never brown, and you will see them shrink in front of you, and if you bought "just enough" to begin with, you will not have enough when you're done.

Day boat scallops are scallops that, theoretically, were caught and brought in to market within a day. I'm not sure that's always true, but you can get much fresher scallops than the ones you will encounter in the supermarket. They will cost more - they may cost MUCH more - but you will have much more product when you're done.

How can you tell? It's pretty easy. "Day boaters" are never uniform in color, and they are rarely uniform in size. They are also NEVER stored in plastic, or in containers. They are out there, for you to look at. Smell them. The preserved scallops WILL smell slightly of chlorine and other chemicals. Day boaters will smell fresh and sweet. And if the merchant will let you taste one, bite into it. Texture will be the final arbiter. A fresh scallop will remind you somewhat of a high quality truffle, with the way that it breaks when you bite down. A stored scallop, is something like a marshmallow.

I am writing here, by the way, of sea scallops. Bay scallops are a different topic all together. They are much tinier, have a much shorter season and are ridiculously expensive. This year, I've seen them at 30 bucks a pound. I really don't care for them as much as sea scallops, so I stick with the ocean guys, which cost about half that. That's if you get the normal sized ones. You can sometimes get access to a variety of scallop that is found in restaurants, something called the "U10." They are so called, because they are so big that there are only about 10 of them in a pound. There is also a variety of Mexican scallop, that is a "U4." Yup, scallopzilla. I have tried them. I like the U10s, I dislike the U4s. But as the U10s are hard to find, and I've never found them locally, just stick to the good scallops you can get from your local fishmonger.

How do I prepare them? Simply. And let me say that this is not the only way to do them. What I do is to lay out the scallops in single rows, i.e, I don't let them touch each other, and I only work with a pound at a time. I pat them as dry as possible, but you will never succeed in drying scallops completely. I get a plastic bag, and put in about a cup of all purpose flour, with a teaspoon of salt. You can vary this, by doing things like adding cayenne pepper (I sometimes do that), or curry powder (not my favorite, but I've done it), or some other dry spice that is not too overpowering. Use less than you think you'll need, because you want the taste of the scallops to come out.

Then I separate the flour that did not stick to the scallops, from the scallops themselves. I use a nonstick pan for cooking them. Others frown on this, but I find that I can't keep them from sticking in a regular pan. For a pound of scallops, I use two tablespoons of vegetable oil and two of butter (I find that olive oil overpowers their delicate flavor), and I get it hot. I let the butter stop sizzling, then I'm ready. The scallops go in, and I never crowd the pan. They're going to cook quickly, so I don't need to worry about spending too much time. If you take more than five minutes to cook your scallops, you're overcooking them. Three minutes on the first side, getting a sear, is fine, then flip them, and cook them for another minute or two. Then remove them to a plate. Scallops WILL continue to cook out of the pan, so if you like them closer to raw, don't cook them that long.

You have in your pan some wonderful drippings, that have been augmented with flour from the scallops. Don't waste that. I always make a pan sauce, by adding about a quarter cup of white wine . Remember the question about vermouth? Well, this is a case where I would not use it. The flavor of the scallops is too delicate. When the wine has stopped bubbling, I move the scallops back into the pan, stir them gently, and we're done.

Instead of wine, you can put in some cream and do exactly the same thing. Do that if the rest of your meal is very lean, or you feel somewhat ready for the calories. I prefer just the wine, but do as you like here. You can also just add chicken stock and lemon juice and get a pan sauce that way as well.

From start to finish, it will take you about ten minutes to cook the scallops, so have the rest of your meal ready and then serve it forth.

If you haven't made them, try them. I think you'll be pleased.