Grilling scallops advice needed


 

Bob Correll

R.I.P. 3/31/2022
I plan to grill some scallops in the next day or so, a first for me.
My concern, over cooking, or under cooking.

I'm thinking SPOG seasoned, on skewers, direct for color, then indirect and basted with butter until done, and served with lemon wedges.

I know they won't take long, but don't know if I should go by color (opaqueness) alone, and/or check for temperature.
In a cast iron skillet would be easier I'm sure, but would like to do them over coals.
Thanks for any advice.

Purchased from frozen Aldi, now thawing in the fridge.

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Skewer is fine, there won't be any indirect time for my money, by the time they have color they will be done!
One trick I learned from a pro chef, is to dry them with paper towel then. Dust them very lightly with "Wondra" then screaming hot, drizzle with melted butter and a pinch of cinnamon! I have also used the merest breath of maple syrup (a few drops in the butter would be perfect.)
 
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I marinated these scallops in a key lime marinade for about 1/2 hour....precooked some bacon, wrapped the bacon around the scallop, added some salt & pepper.

They don't take long to cook, when they get a little firm....taste test until they are done to your liking.

Im sure whatever you do, they will come out awesome.
 
I've tried several times with small & large scallops - I remember a fail or two, the best were bacon wrapped but mine didn't look anywhere near as good as JeffG's. Not that I'm a fan of Gordon Ramsey (only seen a few times), I've watched him beat up some cooks over their scallops.... It might be a good idea to try some cooked & seared on your griddle too (salt/butter/garlic/pepper/lemon on the side?), to see what you prefer.
 
Thanks for the advice guys.
I might chicken out and use a cast iron skillet on the grill for my first go at them.
 
Like Clint said, I have failed at scallops also, a little trick.

Wash the scallops, dry the scallops, marinate the scallops , and then pop them back in the freezer on a plate until they firm up.
Wrap in pre cooked bacon, slide onto skewers and cook. The bacon actually holds them together, see sig. line ahaha

Otherwise the scallop is pretty mushy, and if your not careful with the screwers, the scallop just falls apart.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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You could certainly use the CI. They will over cook very very quickly especially if you go any kind of acid marinade! Lemon or lime for more than the above mentioned half hour will have them "cooked" before you hit the heat, that will make them rubbery.
Just remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
 
Bob.
I've done heaps of scallops in the past. I dry them off, put them in a shake bag, add a little evoo & give it a gentle shake. Then add SPOGC (chilie flakes), and give it another gentle shake, making sure each scallop is well coated.
Get them on a double-pronged skewer & into the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up. Direct heat for about a minute either side. Done! Gorgeous!

Or. If you have the shells, you can use the same prep as above, but instead of using skewers, you put the scallops back in their half shell with a little bit of butter and a little splash of white wine, and then lay the shell directly on the coals. Takes about 5 minutes to cook, turning once halfway.....lid on. :)
 
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Bunch of good advice Bob, But the most important thing to remember when buying scallops is...Do not buy wet pack scallops only get dry packed.. Wet packed are nasty mushy and have a strong chemical oder to them... Out here I only buy dry packed. Never tried the prepackaged one's before... So look on the label to see what your getting if you can't buy them fresh. And there's a small muscle that needs to be removed from the side of the scallops where it was attached to the shell ...Not sure if it's on the prepackaged one's though.
 
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