Bay Scallop Tacos

Before you’re able to cook scallops, you need to buy the scallops. Unfortunately, that’s not always so simple. Fresh scallops can be sold under a bewildering array of names — such as “bay” scallops, “sea” scallops and “jumbo” scallops — and these names don’t necessarily indicate a specific size or weight. And then there’s the mysterious “diver” scallop. What do all these descriptions mean?

Retailers should describe scallop sizes by using a range of numbers indicating how many of them there would be in a pound. Designating scallops as “20/30” would mean that it would take between 20 and 30 of them to make up a pound. The smaller the number is, the larger (by weight) the scallops are. You may also see size designations that look like “U/15” or “U/10.” In these cases, the “U” stands for “under,” indicating that it would take fewer than 10 (or 15) of these to make up a pound. U/10 scallops would be the biggest ones available.

Among the smallest of the scallops, corresponding to 70/120 using the numerical scale described above — meaning that there would be between 70 and 120 meats per pound of scallops. Bay scallops are particularly sweet and delicate tasting.

Scallops are a quick and versatile menu item for home cooking. Search out fresh scallops at a reputable fish market or fish counter at your grocery store. The scallops should be moist and have a sweet smell. Frozen scallops are convenient and rival fresh ones in terms of taste and texture.Scallops are a lean protein source and should be cooked quickly under high heat to prevent them from drying out. Also, a high-heat cooking method results in a pleasant browning on the outside and a delicious caramelized flavor. Because scallops are so lean, they require some fat such as oil or butter during cooking. Scallops are mild and need a little flavor boost. It can be a complex sauce or as simple as a squeeze of lime, as in our recipe.

Scallop Tacos

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Sour cream
• 2 tablespoons Orange juice
• 1 teaspoon grated Orange peel (zest)
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 cups Coleslaw mix
• ½ Jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Lime juice + more to taste
• Scallops
• 8 Tortillas, warmed
• Diced avocado, for garnish
• Minced cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Whisk together sour cream, orange juice and zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, toss the coleslaw mix with the jalapeno pepper, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the lime juice. Season to taste with salt and plenty of pepper, adding more lime juice if desired.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet until almost smoking. Add scallops to pan and sauté for 2 minutes – be careful not to overcook!

To assemble, fill each tortilla with a scoop of the slaw mixture, diced avocado and scallops. Drizzle with cream and top with cilantro, if using.

Seared Scallops with Asparagus

A scallop (from Old French escalope, meaning “shell”) is a common name applied to many species of marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pectinidae. Scallops are found in all of the world’s oceans and many are highly prized as a food source. The brightly colored, fan-shaped shells of some scallops, with their radiating fluted pattern, are valued by shell collectors, and have been used since ancient times as motifs in art and design.

Scallops are characterized by having two types of meat in one shell: the adductor muscle, called “scallop”, which is white and meaty, and the roe, called “coral”, which is red or white and soft. Some markets sell scallops already prepared in the shell, with only the adductor muscle intact. 

Scallops that are without any additives are called “dry packed”, while scallops that are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) are called “wet packed”. STPP causes the scallops to absorb moisture prior to the freezing process, thereby getting a better price per unit of weight. The freezing process takes about two days.

Scallops have lent their name to the culinary term scalloped, which originally referred to seafood creamed and served hot in the shell. Today it means a creamed casserole dish such as scalloped potatoes, which contains no seafood at all.

By far the largest wild scallop fishery is for the Atlantic sea scallop, which are found off the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Most of the rest of the world’s production of scallops is from Japan (wild, enhanced, and aquaculture) and China (mostly cultured Atlantic bay scallops). On the east coast of the United States, over the last 100 years, the populations of bay scallops have greatly diminished. This decrease is due to several factors, but probably is mostly caused by a reduction in sea grasses due to increased coastal development and nutrient runoff. Another possible factor is reduction of sharks from overfishing. A variety of sharks used to feed on rays, which are a main predator of bay scallops. With the shark population reduced — in some places almost eliminated — the rays have been free to dine on scallops to the point of greatly decreasing their numbers. By contrast, the Atlantic sea scallop is at historically high levels of abundance after recovery from overfishing.

Seared Scallops with Asparagus

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces Scallops, thawed if frozen
• 1 Lemon
• 3 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 pound Asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 medium red Onion, sliced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh Basil, chopped

Rinse the scallops and pat dry. Set aside.

Peel one lemon and cut the peel into thin strips. Squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from the lemon and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the asparagus and onion and cook for 203 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving platter and keep warm.

Combine the lemon peel, basil and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in skillet. Cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Remove the lemon peel and discard.

Cook the scallops in the hot oil for 3-5 minutes or until opaque, turning once. Stir in the reserved lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the scallops over the asparagus mixture. Serve immediately.