These are so simple to make, yet people seem to shy away from preparing them. You often see them on the menu in fine restaurants. They are a popular and tasty restaurant dish, so why not learn make them at home.

I find the frozen raw Costco scallops to be very good. They are not treated with chemicals and are frozen immediately after harvesting. Just thaw them, rinse them and pat them dry and they are ready to go.

The key to getting these seared to perfection is to make sure they are absolutely dry before they go in the pan. The pan must be very hot, hence why you need to use clarified butter. Normal butter would burn before the pan got hot enough to sear.

If you do not have clarified butter use a sturdy vegetable oil, but the clarified butter gives them an amazing flavor.

Finally, and most importantly, do not over cook them. Literally, they need 2 minutes on each side.

Ingredients

10 dry Sea Scallops, 15-20 ct or slightly larger
Celery Salt
Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Clarified Butter
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1/4 cup White Wine
1 Tbsp fresh Chives, chopped

Begin by preparing all the ingredients, as once you start cooking it will go quickly.

Put your oven on its lowest setting and put your dinner plates in there, so they will be slightly warm. This is important, as you will transfer the seared scallops to them while you prepare your sauce. Season your scallops on both sides with celery salt and black pepper.

Heat your pan until it is very hot, add your clarified butter and once it starting to smell nutty and turn a bit golden, quickly add your scallops. Don’t disturb them while they are searing. Two minutes on one side turn them over with tongs. Two more minutes and transfer them to your heated plates.

Add the white wine and lemon juice and deglaze the pan. As the sauce starts to thicken, add the chives. Then spoon over the scallops and serve immediately. They are great with my seafood rice pilaf.