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Prosciutto Wrapped Scallops with a Mango Sriracha Coulis

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A few years ago I found an article in Cooks Illustrated about why I wasn’t able to get a restaurant quality taste out of my grocery store scallops. I had always assumed it my because I just didn’t have the cookin’ chops to compete with a restaurant chef. And while that may be true, it wasn’t the main reason my scallops lacked taste. Here is my Scallops lesson of the day:
Wet vs. Dry
If you buy scallops at the grocery store, they will be wet 99% of the time. This is bad. It means that someone decided to saturate them in a solution of water and phosphates. Because of this, the scallops have a difficult time browning and they have a slightly soapy taste and rubbery texture. If you have a great seafood market, ask if they have dry scallops. If they aren’t sure, the scallops are probably wet. A dry scallop will be, well..dry. If it is sittin’ in a bowl of milk liquid, it’s a wet guy.
I’ll just assume that ya’ll have wet scallops, since that is what is most commonly available, but if you can find dry, buy them. The taste difference is huge (at least to me).
Ingredients

1 quart of water
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tbs Kosher or Sea salt
8 jumbo scallops (10-20 per lb size, the little guys just don’t hack it)
2 tbs butter
8 slices of prosciutto
1 tsp-ish of black pepper
1/2 cup fresh, diced mango
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp siracha
pinch or salt
Combine the water, lemon juice and 2 tbs of salt in a bowl and soak the scallops for 30 minutes (if you are 100% bet your $20 worth of seafood on it sure that they are dry, skip this step). Remove the scallops and place them on a stack of about 4 absorbent paper towels, then top them with  more paper towels and press down slightly. Allow the scallops to drain and dry for about 10 minutes. In a sauce pan, melt the butter on medium high until very hot. Fold a slice of prosciutto in half the long way and wrap around your scallop (you can also cut it in half to make two long strips if you’d like) securing with a tooth pick.
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Season the top and bottom of your scallops with pepper. Once the pan is hot, add 4 scallops to the pan (you don’t want to crowd the pan or your scallops will never brown) and cook for about 4 minutes, then turn over and cook on the other side for an additional 4 minutes or until the top and bottom both have a nice brown sear.
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in a food processor, combine the mango, olive oil, honey, siracha and a pinch of salt and puree until smooth.
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Top the scallops with the coulis and enjoy.
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Comments


sarah June 16, 2011 um 3:51 pm

Oh wow. These look wonderful! And your pictures are just lovely. I’ve been seeing tons of scallops at our local market so I’m looking forward to trying your recipe!

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Jaxie June 17, 2011 um 10:08 am

Thank you Sarah! If you try it, let me know how it turns out!

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Eva Toneva June 17, 2011 um 1:15 am

It seems incredible, I can only guess how delicious! 🙂

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Jaxie June 17, 2011 um 10:10 am

Thank you Eva! That means a lot coming from you, your food always looks SOOOO delicious! =)

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Jorie June 17, 2011 um 9:32 am

Okay…now I have to go look for dry scallops. Thanks for the tip! Your mango sriracha looks gorgeous against the scallop. Love the color and your photos.

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Jaxie June 17, 2011 um 10:09 am

Thanks Jorie!

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chinmayie @ love food eat June 17, 2011 um 10:04 am

great photos!! mango sriracha looks beautiful 🙂

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Jaxie June 17, 2011 um 10:10 am

I loved the way the Coolie turned out, I ate the left overs plain!

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Rachel June 17, 2011 um 11:02 am

that looks amazing!

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Books n' Cooks June 17, 2011 um 6:21 pm

Just found your blog and really love it. Beautiful photos, great recipes. I look forward to reading more

Reply

Jaxie June 17, 2011 um 11:23 pm

Thank you so much!

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Jun June 17, 2011 um 9:02 pm

It looks delicious and festive!

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horaceleblan June 21, 2011 um 11:57 pm

Food always look so tempting。

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Sia June 22, 2011 um 8:31 am

You are really talented!

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Jennifer @ Jane Deere July 19, 2011 um 8:40 am

Wow, these scallops look delish! And I love Sriracha…I just posted a Sriracha recipe today! http://janedeereblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweet-and-spicy-sriracha-hot-wings.html

Congrats on the TK feature!

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vincent July 21, 2011 um 11:54 am

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Marleen Buford August 11, 2011 um 8:17 am

Whats up! I just want to give a huge thumbs up!

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GastroStu August 20, 2011 um 2:43 am

Great post, useful info about the wet/dry scallops, nice pics and I love the idea of mango siracha coulis (I had to Google siracha though lol)

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Jaxie August 21, 2011 um 8:17 am

I love Srisacha, but a little goes a long way! It’s a great flavor.

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Victor Gusescu January 15, 2012 um 8:37 am

Wow, great post.Thanks Again. Really Cool.

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