The clip helps hold the bag in place in the water.
Ingredients
For the scallops
2 lbs. Scallops
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of half a lemon
1 T. of dried parsley
Pinch of salt and pepper
For the chimichurri
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch of cilantro
1 clove of chopped garlic
Juice of half a lemon
1 T. of honey
(About) 4-5 T. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Putting it all together
This is super easy and can be made using sous vide or a smoker, searing is OK. (If you’re in the market for a precision cooker I highly recommend looking at Anova Culinary.)
If you’re using sous vide, find “sous vide scallops” in the app and start the Anova.
In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the scallops. Dry off the scallops (!!) and then add them to the lemon juice, zest, and other ingredients. Make sure you’re nearly ready to go when you do this because the lemon juice will start to “cook” the scallops and we are not looking for ceviche, although the texture derived from sous viding scallops is close to ceviche.
After the scallops sit in the marinade for a minute or two, transfer the scallops to a Stasher bag or vacuum seal bag. Don’t just pour the scallops into the bag; place them individually or a few at a time in the bag. You don’t have to dry them off, but you don’t want excess liquid in the bag. You also want to make sure that they are not piled up in the bag, and that instead, they are in one layer. Remove as much air as possible and seal the Stasher bag, or seal the vacuum bag.
When the water for the sous vide is to temperature, place the bag of scallops in the water.
I use a tub from Rubbermaid as a container for the water, and I use tin foil as a cover to help keep the temperature. HERE are some other recommendations from Wirecutter if you’re interested in learning more about sous vide.
The scallop on the left has been seared. The scallop on the right is straight outta the sous vide bath.
If you don’t have a precision cooker after you let the scallops sit in the lemon juice and zest for about two minutes, remove them from the liquid and place them on a plate with a couple of paper towels. Pat them dry. Get a cast iron pan hot, hot, hot, and sear the scallops, just about a minute each side. Keep an eye on them, but don’t worry, even “overcooked” scallops are delicious. (But if you’re super worried about overcooking, get a precision cooker and try sous vide!)
If you sous vide the scallops, when they are done remove them from the bag. You can either pat them dry and give them a quick sear in a cast iron pan, or you can eat them right away. I actually quite like the consistency of the scallops after sous vide.
Serve with chimichurri and some lemon.
To make the chimichurri
Combine all of the chimichurri ingredients in a food processor. If it’s too chunky, just drizzle EVOO in while it’s on low until you reach a consistency that you like. Chimichurri is similar in consistency to a pesto.
I have also used sous vide to cook hake before and you can read about that on the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association blog HERE.
