Valentine’s Day is next week! Yay?

Real talk: Husband and I are not sentimental folk. We never buy each other (or expect) gifts. Instead, we spend our money doing things together. For example, last year for Husband’s birthday we went to Chicago to see the Timbers play and for my birthday, I kept up my usual tradition and dragged my entire family to a much too expensive restaurant after Husband and I had walked all over Portland seeing a movie and popping into random bars. I love looking back on these days.

Valentine’s Day is no different. After spending many years working in a restaurant, going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day is kind of my worst nightmare. The lines, the crowds, blech. It’s not for me. Instead, I usually use the day as an excuse to make an extravagant dinner and we pull out one of the fancy bottles of wine. Everyone’s happy.

This year, I’m thinking surf and turf. The turf will be my sous vide tri-tip steak and the surf will be these scallops. How about with a side of cauliflower gratin? Less do itttt.

This post is meant to teach you the basic method of sous vide scallops, and you can use whatever sauce and seasoning sounds yummy, but I did make my suggestion for a super traditional lemon brown butter sauce.

The time and temp for these sous vide scallops are very similar to other seafoods: 122 degrees for 20-45 minutes. I like to do a half hour even. Once they’re done, you give them a sear in a screaming hot pan, make the sauce and you’re good! When you sear, make sure to just barely sear. To help myself keep track, I’ll set a 30 second timer on my phone so I don’t accidentally annihilate them.

The Recipe

Sous Vide Scallops

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Recipe type: Dinner

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• ½ pound of scallops
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tbsp cold butter, divided
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Set up immersion circulator in a waterbath and preheat water to 122 degrees F.
2. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops to a bag and remove the air. Add the bag to the water and cook for 25-45 minutes (I recommend 30 on the nose).
3. When the scallops are done, heat a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over high heat. Add 1 tbsp of butter and melt. Sear the scallops quickly (less than 30 seconds!) on each side until golden brown. Remove to a plate.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining butter. Cook until melted and beginning to brown. Turn off heat and add lemon juice and parsley. Taste and add salt if necessary.
5. Pour the sauce over the scallops and serve.

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