Pan-Seared Scallops are easily among our top three favorite seafood dishes. The mild flavor of scallops marries well with Champagne and for sure helped it get to the top.
Cooking Scallops with Jamon Fat
Scallops are not hard to cook but easy to overcook. It’s one of those dishes when you can’t take your eye off and have a sip of wine in between. Got to be super vigilant because they can go from perfect to overcooked in a matter of seconds. That’s when you get those “delicious” rubbery scallops.
The key to success is the quality of the scallops themselves. We used Pacific Wild Caught. Depending on the size, it takes a minute to minute and a half on each side to have it ready. Scallops have a mild flavor and need just a pinch of black pepper and salt.
As you might know, scallops have an affinity for bacon and a common item on the restaurant menu. We find that sometimes bacon can mask the scallop flavor if proportions are out of whack. Frankly, we’re not fans of intense bacon flavors, yet we wanted to use it in some way.
So we took a different route to get there. We decided to use the trimmings from Jamón Serrano to add an extra layer of flavor to our dish. We melted fatty Jamón trimmings in the pan, added a sliced clove of garlic, and cooked it until golden brown to add a light garlic flavor. Removed the garlic from the pan and seared scallops in garlicky Jamón fat. When scallops were done, we squeezed some lemon juice over them.
Essentially Jamón is just like bacon, but without any spices or flavor enhancers other than salt. The slightly musky aromas of aged Jamón, garlic, and lemon complemented mild scallop flavors so well that we wished we made some more.
Wine Pairings
The Billercart-Salmon Brut Réserve profile paired great with this dish. The aromas of musky Jamón and briny scallops were complemented by minerality and brioche in Champagne. Brut’s acidity balanced the protein and fats, and fruit complemented scallop flavors.
Combining scallops and Jamón was an exciting experiment. We look forward to trying it again and pairing it with few Sparkling Rosés: Veuve Cliquot Brut Rosé, Luc Belair Rare Rosé, 2016 RMS Rosé.
What are your favorite scallop recipe and wine pairing?
