Prepare the beurre blanc: Place wine, vinegar and shallots into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by half, leaving at least 3 tablespoons of liquid in the pan. Strain the liquid and return it to the pan set on low heat.
Add the tablespoons of butter to the pan, one at a time, vigorously whisking into the liquid after each addition to emulsify. Repeat until all of the butter is incorporated and the sauce is light in colour.
Remove from heat. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Stir in chopped herbs. Serve immediately or cover surface with wrap to keep warm while meal cooks.
Prepare the scallops: Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Season one side with salt and pepper.
Heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the pan. When the oil is hot and shimmery, carefully place the scallops in the pan, seasoned side down. Sprinkle tops with salt and pepper.
Cook, without moving them, until browned for 3 minutes.
Flip the scallops and cook for 2 minutes more.
Remove scallops to a plate until ready to serve.
Prepare the vegetable sauté: Place a large skillet on stovetop set to medium heat. Melt butter then add shallots, cooking them for about a minute, until soft. Add honey and vinegar. Then add vegetables stirring of flipping them in the pan until slightly tender but still crunchy. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
To serve: Add a generous helping of the sautéed vegetables onto a dinner plate. Place 3 to 5 scallops next to the veggies. Add a drizzle of the beurre blanc over the scallops. Serve immediately.
Pan-Seared Scallops
Ingredients
For the scallops:
10-12 large sea scallops
2 tablespoons canola, avocado or vegetable oil
For the beurre blanc:
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 shallots, diced
8 tablespoons butter
sprinkle kosher salt
squeeze of lemon (about 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
For the green vegetable sauté:
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely diced
1 tablespoon honey
1 ounce seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
1 cup shelled fresh peas
4 baby bok choy julienned
sprinkle kosher salt
sprinkle black pepper
squeeze lemon juice
Directions
Prepare the beurre blanc: Place wine, vinegar and shallots into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by half, leaving at least 3 tablespoons of liquid in the pan. Strain the liquid and return it to the pan set on low heat.
Add the tablespoons of butter to the pan, one at a time, vigorously whisking into the liquid after each addition to emulsify. Repeat until all of the butter is incorporated and the sauce is light in colour.
Remove from heat. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Stir in chopped herbs. Serve immediately or cover surface with wrap to keep warm while meal cooks.
Prepare the scallops: Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Season one side with salt and pepper.
Heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the pan. When the oil is hot and shimmery, carefully place the scallops in the pan, seasoned side down. Sprinkle tops with salt and pepper.
Cook, without moving them, until browned for 3 minutes.
Flip the scallops and cook for 2 minutes more.
Remove scallops to a plate until ready to serve.
Prepare the vegetable sauté: Place a large skillet on stovetop set to medium heat. Melt butter then add shallots, cooking them for about a minute, until soft. Add honey and vinegar. Then add vegetables stirring of flipping them in the pan until slightly tender but still crunchy. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
To serve: Add a generous helping of the sautéed vegetables onto a dinner plate. Place 3 to 5 scallops next to the veggies. Add a drizzle of the beurre blanc over the scallops. Serve immediately.
Pan-Seared Scallops
5 / 5. 1
Plump scallops seared golden, drizzled with a buttery, lemon and tarragon sauce…
We’re cooking like a chef, making PAN SEARED SCALLOPS with tarragon beurre blanc.
If you’re a lover of fresh seafood, shellfish in particular, this stellar recipe for PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS is just the thing. Not only will we show you the perfect way to sear scallops in a hot skillet, we’re also finishing them with a delicious sauce. Serving them is easy, with a simple sauté of fresh green veggies, making this an ideal quick meal for lunch or dinner. You’ll be able to prepare the entire meal in just 20 minutes.
One thing to mention off the top: timing. Make sure to watch the VIDEO attached to this recipe before attempting it. In it, we explain our tried-and-true instructions for pan-searing scallops, where we start by prepping the ingredients for the vegetable side dish and making the buttery tarragon beurre blanc sauce. That means after we sear the scallops, it’s just a few moments of sautéing the veggies before we get to enjoy.
Here are some additional tips on making perfect PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS:
INGREDIENTS FOR PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS
You’re going to need fresh scallops, an oil with a high smoke point, some kosher salt and black pepper. Seriously, that’s it. Pan-searing scallops only requires four ingredients. We’ll share a bit more information about the type of scallops we used in the next section. Regarding the best oil to use to get that desired golden sear, we suggest vegetable oil, canola oil or avocado oil. Some folks recommend doing a combination of oil and butter, but we found the butter browned too quickly, even clarified butter. We also don’t recommend using olive oil as the flavour is too strong.
SEA SCALLOPS OR BAY SCALLOPS?
Regarding the best type of scallops to use for searing, we found that sea scallops work best, as opposed to their smaller, more immature cousins, bay scallops. Scallops are a type of mollusk with two-hinged shells just like clams, mussels and oysters. Scallops are sized by weight, U10, U12, and 10-20, meaning under 10 to a pound, under 12 to a pound, or 10-20 to a pound. We seared 10 scallops for this recipe, enough for two guests, each receiving about 6 ounces of cooked scallops. This is the perfect size for a satiating but not overly filling meal.
So, what to do with those bay scallops? Use them for a CREAMY SEAFOOD CHOWDER or a tomatoey FISHERMAN’S CHOWDER. Their smaller size delivers a pleasing flavour when mixed with other types of fish and seafood.
PREPARING SCALLOPS FOR PAN SEARING
The key to making perfect pan-seared scallops is to make sure they’re completely dry before cooking. Whether purchasing them from a fishmonger or the seafood section at your local grocery store, try to select scallops that look to be about the same size. This will ensure they’ll all be cooked at the same time. Then, when you’re ready to prepare, spill them into a bowl or onto a plate and use paper towels to pat or blot them dry – tops, bottoms and sides. We can’t stress this enough. Scallops need to be dry in order to sear properly. Dry scallops lead to golden-brown crust success!
HOW TO SEASON SCALLOPS
Once the scallops are dry, we place them onto a plate or platter and season with a sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper. No need to turn them over to season the flip side, we’ll do that when we turn them over in the hot skillet. Before we go over the best pan in which to sear scallops, how about some scallop nutritional facts? Scallops are high in protein, low in fat and calories, and full of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12, selenium, and zinc. What do they taste like? Similar to oysters, scallops have a distinct merroir based on where they’ve grown. In general though, they have a slightly sweet and salty flavour with a buttery texture when cooked. They’re not overly fishy, so if you don’t normally gravitate to seafood, we think scallops are for you.
BEST PAN FOR SEARING SCALLOPS
During the testing of this scallops recipe, we found two types of pans work best: a cast iron skillet or a shallow, stainless steel frying pan. Please note, you’ll never be able to get golden brown scallops using a coated or non-stick pan. One additional point about the pan goes to the level of heat needed to sear large sea scallops. We suggest setting the pan on moderate-high or medium-high heat. Make sure the pan is good and hot before adding the oil. Then get that oil to shimmer before adding the scallops.
HOW TO SEAR SCALLOPS
So, we’ve blotted the scallops dry with paper towel, we’ve seasoned them with salt and pepper and we have a cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan that’s nice and hot. Now, it’s time to cook scallops perfectly and it could not be easier to achieve. Simply place the scallops down flat into the hot pan, sprinkle the tops with salt and pepper and leave them to cook undisturbed for three minutes. You got that, right? Do not touch them for three whole minutes.
Then, using tongs or a flipper, flip them over and marvel at that golden crust. Continuing, cook the scallops for two minutes more, again, undisturbed.
Then, remove the cooked scallops to a side plate and leave them to rest while you prepare a salad or another fabulous side dish, just as we did. Don’t forget to also make a TARRAGON BEURRE BLANC as detailed below.
TARRAGON BEURRE BLANC
In our opinion, this PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS dish is deserving of an extra little flavour enhancement that comes in the form of an herbed beurre blanc. A beurre blanc is a warm, emulsified butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar and white wine flavoured with shallots. We then add chopped fresh tarragon which pairs perfectly with the richness of the scallops. If this sounds familiar, hurray! We used a similar HERBED BEURRE BLANC when we served our famous GRILLED WHOLE RAINBOW TROUT. Feel free to use tarragon as we have or try fresh parsley, dill, chives, basil or any combination of fresh herbs.
The key to a really good beurre blanc is the butter, of course, and we recommend using unsalted butter only, please. This will allow you to season the sauce with just tiny sprinkle of kosher salt at the very end. The other key is to boil and then simmer the shallots in white wine vinegar and white wine until reduced by half.
Emulsifying that fortified shallot-flavoured wine and vinegar reduction gives the sauce a memorable tanginess that then gets further boosted with the fresh tarragon and a squeeze of lemon juice. It’s heavenly with this scallop dish.
SAUTÉED GREEN VEGETABLES
We love this delicious, easy-to-prepare vegetable side dish so much, we’re going to circle back and give it a separate post of its very own. We used fresh asparagus, peas and julienned baby bok choy with the goal being a pop of healthy to pair with the rich scallops and sauce.
Feel free to add other green veggies like spinach, snow peas, broccoli, kale and green peppers into the hot skillet too.
The only tip on cooking the veggies is to sauté them in the pan quickly. Cook them until just softened yet still slightly crunchy. Tossing them in the two tablespoons of butter with a drizzle of honey, rice wine vinegar, shallots and lemon is just the thing to serve next to the scallops. You can also drizzle the veggies with the beurre blanc too. Amazing.
HOW TO SERVE PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS
So the goal for this post was to share our proven method for searing scallops perfectly. That then leads us to the memorable moment when we serve this delicious meal. Talk about easy! We added a generous spoonful or two of our healthy veggie side. You can also serve this dish with rice, potatoes or other favourite side dishes and salads. Then, transfer some scallops to the plate, add a drizzle of the beurre blanc over top, and serve with the remaining sauce on the side. The final suggestion for this very tasty meal: go slow. You’ll want to savour and enjoy every single bite. It really is amazing! BONUS, you can also forgo the side dish and serve this recipe as an appetizer or pair it with thin slices of steak, kinda like a surf and turf. No matter how you decide to go, 5-star rating, guaranteed!
PIN IT!
This seared scallop so easy and delicious, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite main course, dinner or seafood board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS with a buttery TARRAGON BEURRE BLANC is the seafood recipe we’ve all been waiting for. Enjoy!
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Ingredients
For the scallops:
10-12 large sea scallops
2 tablespoons canola, avocado or vegetable oil
For the beurre blanc:
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 shallots, diced
8 tablespoons butter
sprinkle kosher salt
squeeze of lemon (about 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
For the green vegetable sauté:
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely diced
1 tablespoon honey
1 ounce seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
1 cup shelled fresh peas
4 baby bok choy julienned
sprinkle kosher salt
sprinkle black pepper
squeeze lemon juice
Directions
Prepare the beurre blanc: Place wine, vinegar and shallots into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by half, leaving at least 3 tablespoons of liquid in the pan. Strain the liquid and return it to the pan set on low heat.
Add the tablespoons of butter to the pan, one at a time, vigorously whisking into the liquid after each addition to emulsify. Repeat until all of the butter is incorporated and the sauce is light in colour.
Remove from heat. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Stir in chopped herbs. Serve immediately or cover surface with wrap to keep warm while meal cooks.
Prepare the scallops: Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Season one side with salt and pepper.
Heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the pan. When the oil is hot and shimmery, carefully place the scallops in the pan, seasoned side down. Sprinkle tops with salt and pepper.
Cook, without moving them, until browned for 3 minutes.
Flip the scallops and cook for 2 minutes more.
Remove scallops to a plate until ready to serve.
Prepare the vegetable sauté: Place a large skillet on stovetop set to medium heat. Melt butter then add shallots, cooking them for about a minute, until soft. Add honey and vinegar. Then add vegetables stirring of flipping them in the pan until slightly tender but still crunchy. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
To serve: Add a generous helping of the sautéed vegetables onto a dinner plate. Place 3 to 5 scallops next to the veggies. Add a drizzle of the beurre blanc over the scallops. Serve immediately.
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