Thomas Keller's Caramelized Sea Scallops
Robin Monday, January 11, 2010 at 8:29AM 
Thomas Keller is easily my favorite chef. Classically trained in French cuisine, and with a toe in both the 3-Michelin-star and family-style-meal worlds, he is everything I could ever imagine a chef to be. Even if my experience at Bouchon was less than I expected it to be.
One of my only regrets in my, admittedly short, life is that while living only three hours away from the French Laundry for nearly two years I never took the opportunity to go. Granted, it starts at $250 per person, but for a once in a lifetime experience I think that's a small price to pay.
Sadly it wasn't until just after I left that I remembered Ad Hoc, Keller's casual, family style restaurant just down the street from his subtle, French juggernaut. Ad Hoc is so casual, in fact, that it doesn't even have a menu. This article from NPR describes it a little more in depth.
I wasn't able to get my paws on any U7 size scallops, but I did get some U12s, I adjusted the brining time to about 45 -60 minutes.
I really can't tell you enough how delicious these scallops were. They are so quintessentially, Keller - simple, fresh ingredients combined with skillful technique resulting in an uncomplicated, fresh perspective that showcases the inherent qualities of the scallop. They're sweet, salty and, cooked properly, have the most amazing texture.
Caramelized Sea Scallops
excerpted from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller
I always buy big scallops, graded U7, meaning there are 7 of this size in a pound, and for this dish, we brine them to season them all the way through.
Ingredients:
2 cups kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 cups hot water
8 cups cold water
12 U7 sea scallops (about 1 3/4 pounds; see headnote), preferably dry-packed, tough side muscle removed from each one
About 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) Clarified Butter
1/2 lemon (optional)
Line a small baking sheet with paper towels. Combine the 2 cups salt with the hot water in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the salt. Add the cold water.
Add the scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes (no longer, or the scallops may become too salty). Drain the scallops, rinse under cold water, and arrange in a single layer on the paper towels.
Heat the clarified butter in a large stainless steel frying pan over medium-high heat until it ripples and begins to smoke. (Although you may be tempted to use a nonstick pan, a stainless steel pan will produce a more beautiful caramelized exterior.) Sprinkle the scallops lightly with salt and add them to the pan, without crowding. (If necessary, cook the scallops in two pans or in 2 batches; if they touch, they will steam rather than caramelize.) Cook, without moving the scallops, until the bottoms are a rich golden brown, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Turn the scallops and caramelize the second side.
Transfer the scallops to a serving platter and serve with a squeeze of lemon juice on top, if desired.
Nutritional Estimate
This is a nutritional estimate, regard it as such.
1 serving = 3 scallops
73 calories
1 g carbohydrate
4 g fat
8 g protein
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Reader Comments (10)
I don't have this book yet, but I do have French Laundry and have yet to make anything from it. I keep promising myself I will, but then I don't. This scallop recipe sounds heavenly!
Kellypea: I have French Laundry too and have yet to make anything out of it. Everything's so intimidating! That's what I like about the recipes in Ad Hoc at Home, now I just need to stop collecting the recipes off the interwebz and actually buy the book...
I love love seared scallops but I never considered brining them. I will definately try the brine before making my next scallop dish. Awesome...
Hi, I searched to see if anyone tried his scallops and found your blog. I am going to cook these tonight, and was looking for any hints.. After having read the recipe from the book I noticed you put "2 cups kosher salt" . The recipe only calls for 1. Hate to see someone salt those babies too much.
I love this cookbook and love to find people that are cooking from it.
Cindy
Hey Cindy, thanks for taking the time to comment about that. You know, I'm going to be honest with you - I haven't yet bought Ad Hoc at Home, so I can't vouch for the recipe that's printed in the book. However, I did search the internet exhaustively for other people who have posted this recipe and they all read 2 cups of salt for the brine. When I made these I used the 2 cups water/2 cups salt ratio for my brine and they turned out spectacularly.
I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else has had a problem with this ratio for the brine for the recipe, though.
Cindy,
I am staring at the book as we speak. It says 2 cups of Kosher salt. Please don't confuse people.
Yes, the reprint is the recipe exactly. 2 cups of salt. They are delicious as are most of the recipes in this book. Well worth the shelf space in your kitchen!
I tried this the other day, and it's such a simple recipe. My friend and I loved it! I felt like a chef without trying too hard.
I made this tonight, but I didn't have Kosher salt in the pantry so I subbed regular salt, and cut the amount in half. It was just slightly too salty for my taste.
Lisa: You will likely have that problem if you're using regular table salt - even if you did cut the amount in half. Table salt is simply much "saltier" than kosher salt. I encourage you to try this recipe again with Kosher salt before you give up on it - it really is tasty!