Pan Searing Scallops, How to Avoid Sticking and Breaking

Scallops are delicious and healthly low fat protien. However, cooking scallops in a pan can give cooks fits. The scallops go in and when its time to flip them over they come up in pieces, sticking to the bottom of your pan. One solution for many is to use a non-stick pan, yet these pans tend to leave you without the delicious caramel brown sear and lead to tough rubbery scallops because of the low, slow heat transfer.

The correct way to pan sear scallops is an easy technique to learn, and this hub should help you with any problems you might be having with sticking and broken scallops.

Before you cook, wipe the bottom of the pan well with a clean towel then, heat your pan without oil. Let it get nice and hot before you add any oil. The best pan for seating is a medium thick stainless steel pan with a clean flat bottom. If your pan has bits of black burt on carbon-y crust getting a clear sear is going to be very difficult. Every cook should have a couple of good stainless pans because you simply can't beat stainless for a beautful sear and high heat transfer.

Take your scallops, and put them on one end of a towel and fold the other end over, then press very gently to remove excess moisture. Make sure the scallops are all sitting with a flat side facing up. Salt the side facing up generously and add any seasonings.

When the pan is screamin hot put in enough oil to coat the bottom. When the oil is thin and runs like water and you see a bit of smoke (faint wisps)  its time to sear your scallops. The pan must be really, really hot before you sear or they will stick.

However, a lot of smoke means the pan is actually too hot, putting scallops in a smoking pan will splatter your oil, potentially starting a fire, and burn not sear the scallops.

Put the scallops in one at a time SALT SIDE DOWN. Make sure you put them in with enough room so that they all fit in the flat bottom section. If the scallops touch the cooler edges of the pan they will stick to it.

Watch the edges of the scallops, especially watch the first one you put in. Don't jiggle the pan, don't play with the scallops, don't poke them ect., just leave them be. The edges will be slightly darker than the middle, so when the edge reaches just a shade over the color you want go ahead and flip them over.

There is no secret to the flip. I use the edge of my tongs and just a quick wrist motion to flip them over. (side note: if you don't own kitchen tongs, a good stainless steel pair, you should pick some up. They are indespensible and I don't know how I would cook without mine.) The corner of a spatula works very well also. Don't grab or pinch them if you use tongs, don't sitck them with a fork, don't try to flip them all at once, don't try to shake the pan and toss them. Just be gentle, pull up a corner and flip quickly.

HELP THEY ARE STICKING TO THE PAN! Ok, so this happens to the best of us. If a scallop seems to stick, stop. First try to flip from the opposite side, more often than not this is he solution. If you still have problems pull the pan off the heat for a second, add an ounce ot two of white wine, or stock (not water!). For whatever reason a dry white wine works the best. Don't ask me why, it just unsticks fish better than anything. Let it steam for 5 seconds as you tilt the pant to bring wine in contact with all of the stuck scallop edges. Put the pan back on the heat and you should be good to go flip.

If you are cooking the scallops with anything make sure the scallops go in first, so that they have full contact with the pan. I tend to sear one side of the scallops for my dishes, adding ingredients after I flip them.

However, you can pan sear both sides if you prefer. One issue to mention is that if you have to add wine for the initial flip, you will not get a nice sear on the other side, but you will have a whole scallop and not pieces of one.

I like my scallops just cooked, so I don't keep them over heat for very long. My recommendation is to use the oven to finish the scallops to your preferred temperature, in a restaurant I keep my oven at a very high 475 degrees, but anything 375 and over will do the trick. Check out my hub on Scallops Carpaccio for an interesting dish with pan seared scallops.