Food - Drink
Your Scallops Will Taste Better With One Simple Step
By JEN PENG
Most of the scallops you find at supermarkets are treated with a solution that contains sodium tripolyphosphate, causing them to soak up excess water and making it incredibly difficult to get that nice golden sear. However, there is one simple step you can take that will help you achieve that perfect sear: brine your scallops before cooking.
Brining helps to even out the flavor of wet scallops while removing the chemical taste from the STP, explains A Couple Cooks, who recommends mixing 4 cups of room temperature water with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt and letting the scallops sit in the mixture for 10 minutes. For even more of a flavor impact, you can also add a bit of lemon juice to the brine.
Brining is especially important for wet scallops, but the technique can be used with dry scallops as well for more tender scallops that have a firmer texture, though it's not quite as crucial. o really elevate your scallops, try basting them in a bit of butter at the end to finish cooking them all the way through.