BBQ Half Shell Scallops
By Charlotte Pike
Let award-winning cookery writer and chef Charlotte Pike teach you how to make the most of your scallops.
This is a very quick and easy way of cooking scallops. I like to serve three to five per person.
Serves 4
Ingredients
12-20 scallops in the half shell (with the coral intact)
50g butter or garlic butter
Sea salt
Freshly chopped parsley or lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
Method
Ensure your barbeque is at the correct temperature before cooking. If using charcoal, ensure they are white and there is no active flame burning. Heat a gas barbeque for around 10 minutes, ensuring it’s good and hot before cooking.
Evenly divide the butter between the scallops, placing a small piece on top of the scallop meat. Season with a little sea salt. For a dairy free version, use a little drizzle of best olive oil.
Carefully sit the scallops in their shells onto the bars of the barbeque and cook for 3-5 minutes until the scallop looks whiter in colour and browns a little. The butter or oil will sizzle and brown a little.
Serve immediately with some parsley sprinkled over the scallop, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if you like. Take care when lifting the scallops off the barbeque, as the shells will be really hot, and the melted butter can easily spill.
About Your Scallops
Scallops are one of the most prized and popular shellfish. Their sweet, clean flavour and meaty flesh is a very special treat. They are also exceptionally easy and quick to cook, so don’t be daunted.
Scallops should be a pale cream colour, but can sometimes be a little darker in colour.
Scallops in the half shell have been opened, but will still be attached to the shell by a little white muscle on the side of the scallop. This can easily be pulled or cut off, but it is often easier to cook them in the shell and cut the muscle off when it is served. The coral is attached to the scallop and can be cooked with the scallop. It has its own distinct flavour and texture.
Before cooking, ensure scallops have been fully defrosted – in the fridge – before cooking them. Remove any excess ice and pat the scallops dry. Give them a check over, too, just in case there is any sand present.
Head to our COOKING page for more for great tips on how to make the most of your Amity catch from award-winning cookery writer, teacher and chef Charlotte Pike.
