Seared Scallops with Chorizo and Corn

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Seared Scallops with Chorizo & Corn

I had a culinary epiphany when I made this recipe. Excellent quality, fresh scallops not only taste delicious, they don’t stink up your house when you pan sear them! I’ve shied away from cooking scallops for years because they’ve typically made the house smell fishy. Thankfully, I didn’t have this problem with the scallops I purchased from Byerlys. Not only did they taste sweet, they actually smelled sweet as well. I was a little skeptical at first because they were frozen when I purchased them. But the Butcher/Seafood person was very confident I would be delighted. In fact, he told me to keep my wrapper and he’d provide a full refund if I didn’t like them. Frankly, I didn’t like them. I loved them!

Tweakings

The fresh sweet corn mixture gets some bite from the smoked Chorizo and the serrano. But I thought the dish could actually use a little more heat to offset the sweetness of the corn. I would add a dash of cayenne when making this again. Adding some additional veggies like chopped red pepper, or halved cherry tomatoes is another great idea.

Buttermilk lends a unique and tasty element to this recipe. It is poured onto the slightly cooled vegetable saute to create a sauce. While the recipe didn’t call for it to be room temperature, that seems essential if you didn’t want to end up with a cold sauce. I noted this in my recipe and also recommend adding the buttermilk a little sooner so it can finish warming up. Do not try cooking the buttermilk after adding it because it will break down (I know, because I tried it.)

Searing Scallops 101

I actually enlisted my brother Jeff to sear the scallops since he’s much more experienced at this. No reason you can’t put a willing dinner guest to work I say! Here are the important highlights I learned in my role as Sous Chef on this operation:

• Buy fresh, dry (aka diver) scallops from a good seafood purveyor
• Pat scallops very dry and season well with salt
• Get oil hot enough to sizzle or smoke slightly
• Do not overcrowd pan – 4 large scallops at the most
• If cooking multiple batches, keep 1st batch warm in oven set at 200 degrees 
• A turkey baster works best for basting scallops with butter after they’ve been flipped
• Have everything else ready – other side dishes, beverages, etc… When the scallops are done – its time to eat!

Seared Scallops with Chorizo and Corn

Seared Scallops with Chorizo and Corn balances a touch of heat from serranos with the sweetness of corn and the tanginess of buttermilk

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Keyword: buttermilk, chorizo, corn, scallops

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 4

Author: Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 3 ears of corn husked
• 3 tbsp. olive oil divided
• 2 oz. smoked Spanish Chorizo finely chopped
• 12 scallions green onions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
• 1 serrano finely chopped (I removed the seeds)
• 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt plus more for seasoning
• 1 c. buttermilk at room temperature set out about an hour before using
• 1/3 c. chopped cilantro you can substitute parsley or a parsley/basil combination
• 12 large sea scallops about 1 lb. patted dry
• 2-3 tbsp. unsalted butter divided
• 1 lime halved
• lime wedges for serving

Optional Ideas

• a pinch of cayenne
• 1/2 c. chopped red pepper or halved cherry tomatoes.

Instructions

• Cut kernels from corncobs and place in a medium bowl. Using the back of a chef’s knife, scrape milk from cobs into the bowl; discard cobs. FYI – I didn’t get much “milk” from my corn cobs.
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook chorizo, stirring occasionally, until it starts to get crisp, about 2 minutes. Carefully pour chorizo oil into a small bowl (use a slotted spoon to hold back chorizo); set chorizo oil aside. Return chorizo pan to medium heat and add scallions, garlic, chile, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and ¾ tsp. salt (and chopped red pepper if you decide to add that.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add corn kernels and cook, stirring occasionally, until bright yellow and softened, 5-7 minutes (if adding halved cherry tomatoes, I would add them when the corn has about 2-3 minutes left to cook.). Remove from heat and let corn mixture cool in pan 2 minutes. Gently mix in buttermilk cilantro or parsley (a pinch of cayenne if using.) Taste and season with more salt if needed. Cover so vegetable mixture can warm up buttermilk.
• After patting dry, season scallops generously with salt. Heat reserved chorizo oil and remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet (cast iron works well) over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Cook up to 4 scallops at a time on one side, reducing heat if they are taking on too much color and moving around in pan for even browning, until a golden brown crust forms on the bottom, about 3 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and turn scallops over. Add 1/2 of butter to skillet and baste scallops using a spoon or turkey baster for 30 seconds. Place in glass dish and keep warm in oven while repeating steps above to cook remaining scallops. Add first batch of scallops back into pan and squeeze lime halves over scallops.
• Divide corn mixture among plates and arrange scallops on top. Serve with lime wedges and additional chopped cilantro or parsley, if desired. Enjoy!