I love virtually all scallop recipes. Sweet, tender, bite-size, crowd-pleasing. The only thing they're often missing? A bit of texture—a little crunch.
Don't get me wrong, I love simple pan-seared scallops with a pan sauce and I always will. But recently I became fixated on a different way to cook scallops: the crispy fried way. I had a vision of golden-crusted scallops tossed like giant croutons into a winter citrus salad. And when I have a new recipe vision, I have to see it through. So I headed to the Epi test kitchen.
First, I tried tossing scallops in mayo and then cornmeal before searing them, but the crust was soggy and didn't stay put. I tried straight cornmeal and then straight almond meal, but both coatings just burned. I tried a shallow fry with the classic three-step dredge of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs; the crust formed, but fell off each delicate scallop. I tried cornstarch, egg, and then cornmeal, and the crust was gummy against the scallop. I tried cornstarch, egg, and then breadcrumbs, and the same thing happened. Finally I tried a mix of equal parts finely ground cornmeal and cornstarch after an egg dredge and I liked the crunch of it and the corn fritter taste, but the crust wasn't thick enough—it didn't give me the feeling of biting through a crisp crust to the tender scallop below that I wanted. So I double-dredged the scallops in the same mixture of cornstarch and cornmeal. And that final step, it turned out, was the key.
To build a thick, crunchy crust, coat the scallops in the cornmeal mixture, then the eggs, and then back in the cornmeal mixture again before pan-frying.
A double-dredge simply means that you toss your scallops (or chicken or whatever you're coating) in the same coating mixture twice, with a dunk in beaten eggs between. This process builds up a thicker coating and helps the crust adhere to the scallop better. And with just two bowls, it's less messy. (Bonus: using a mixture of cornmeal and cornstarch means these crispy scallops are naturally gluten-free.) The final finesse was to add a whisper of Old Bay to the cornmeal mixture, which grounds the flavors firmly in familiar American seafood territory.
But the satisfying crunch of that crust is not the only reason to dredge and shallow-fry a scallop. The crispy crust also protects the scallop so it stays moist and tender and evenly cooked. Plus, shallow-frying only takes a few short minutes. Be sure to hit your freshly fried scallops with some extra salt after they're done.
