shellfish
Scallops
Scallops come two ways. Wet-packed are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate, which makes them absorb water — they dump it in the pan, drop the temperature and steam instead of browning. Dry-packed are untreated and sear. Ninety seconds a side, centre still faintly translucent.
In one line
Wet scallops will not sear. That is the whole shopping decision.
Buy it if
You want a brown crust in ninety seconds a side and you're buying dry-packed.
Wet versus dry is not a freshness grade. Wet-packed scallops are soaked in a sodium tripolyphosphate solution, which makes them take on and hold water. In the pan that water comes back out, the temperature crashes, and they poach in their own liquid instead of browning — and you paid for the water by the pound. Dry-packed are untreated.
You can see it before you cook it. Dry scallops are ivory or faintly pink or orange and look slightly irregular. Wet ones are a uniform bright white and sit in a milky puddle. If the fishmonger doesn't know which they are, they're wet.
You are eating one muscle. The scallop's adductor is what holds its shell shut; everything else is discarded before it reaches you. There is a small rectangular tab on the side — the side muscle — that stays tough. Pull it off with your fingers.
Searing is mostly about not crowding. Pat them dry, salt at the last second, get the pan properly hot, and cook four in a ten-inch pan rather than eight. Each extra scallop cools the pan and every one of them steams.
Where it comes from on the animal
| Species | shellfish |
|---|---|
| Subprimal | the adductor muscle, shucked |
What else it’s called
How to cook Scallops
| Best methods | Pan sear Grill Raw Broil Poach Deep fry |
|---|---|
| Cook to | About 125°F — the centre should still be slightly translucent. Ninety seconds a side in a very hot pan. |
Common questions
What's the difference between dry and wet scallops?
Wet-packed scallops are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate and absorb water; they release it in the pan and will not brown. Dry-packed are untreated. Dry look ivory or faintly pink and irregular; wet look uniformly bright white and sit in milky liquid.
What does U/10 mean on scallops?
The same count-per-pound system used for shrimp — under ten scallops to a pound, so each is large. 10/20 is smaller. It describes size, not quality; a U/10 wet scallop is still a wet scallop.
Are bay scallops the same thing?
No — a different, much smaller species, running around a hundred to the pound. They cook in under a minute and are wrong for searing. Use them where they'll be gently heated or not heated at all: stews, chowders, crudo.
What is a diver scallop?
A harvest method, not a grade — hand-collected by a diver rather than dredged. It often correlates with dry-packed and with larger, cleaner shells, but the term itself is unregulated and guarantees nothing about how the scallop was treated afterwards.
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