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Garlicky Buttery Scallops

4.7

(21)

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Image may contain Food Food Presentation Plate Dish Meal and Platter
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris

This recipe is all about the glorious union of shellfish and butter, inspired by Gambas al Ajillo (Spanish-style garlic shrimp) and writer Bonnie Garmus’s memory of a wildly bad first date with the man who she would ultimately marry. While we can’t guarantee the buttery scallops she ate had anything to do with their eventual union, it wouldn’t surprise us either.

This recipe features a brown butter sauce packed with fried garlic chips and balanced by a handful of fresh basil along with a small hit of vinegar to brighten everything up. For an optimal dark brown sear on the scallops, leave them alone for the first few minutes as they cook and add a splash more oil if the pan seems dry. Scallops can dry out if overcooked, so go for a great sear on just one side. The second side will need much less time to ensure they are cooked through but still juicy. Oh, and don’t leave a drop of that gorgeous butter behind. Some bread for sopping everything up is basically nonnegotiable. —Chris Morocco

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What you’ll need

Ingredients

4 servings

4

Tbsp. unsalted butter

6

garlic cloves, sliced

1

lb. dry sea scallops

Kosher salt

1

Tbsp. (or more) extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

2

tsp. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

Torn basil leaves (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, swirling pan occasionally and reducing heat if garlic is browning too quickly, until golden and butter is foamy and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer garlic butter to a small bowl, scraping in all the browned bits. Wipe out skillet.

    Step 2

    Pat scallops dry; season with salt. Heat oil in same skillet over medium-high. Arrange scallops in pan, spacing evenly apart, and cook, undisturbed, swirling pan occasionally and adding more oil if needed, until well browned underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn scallops over and cook just until golden on the other side and opaque in the middle, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter.

    Step 3

    Stir vinegar into garlic butter; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over scallops and top with basil.

    Head this way for more of our best scallop recipes →

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Reviews (21)

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  • Quite tasty slightly toothy garlic nibbles in the butter make this delectable. The scallops only take less than two minutes a side though.

    • A cook from Buffalo

    • Buafflo, NY

    • 5/15/2023

  • Sautéing the scallops for seven minutes (five minutes on first side, two on the second) will overcook them. I follow Alton Brown’s method — 90 seconds per side in a medium-high mixture of olive oil and unsalted butter — and they come out perfectly seared on the outside and melt-in-your mouth tender on the inside.

    • Rich

    • Las Vegas

    • 5/14/2022

  • Sounds delicious and I enjoyed the authors story!

    • John

    • Saginaw, MI

    • 4/26/2022

  • I love that the vinegar (nice touch, a change of acidity from the usual citrus!) is not added to the pan. This means I can use my carbon steel pan to sear the scallops.

    • Dan W

    • Northern CT

    • 4/23/2022

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