Sam's Place: pan seared scallops recipe

Pan Seared Scallop Recipe:

We love all kinds of seafood and scallops are no exception. Since it was Friday during Lent I thought it was a great idea to make some easy pan seared scallops.

I served these over brown rice with a butter and lemon sauce. Oh! and of course, I used garlic I always like to use garlic when I cook.

What I used to make pan seared scallops:

1-lb. fresh wild sea scallops (25-30)
1/2 cup butter (divided)
1 clove garlic finely chopped
4 tablespoons fresh chives chopped (divided)
1/2 of a lemon and grated rind
Salt and Pepper

Preparing the scallops:

I used fresh sea scallops not frozen. I rinsed the scallops with cold water and laid them out on some paper towels.

Then I patted them dry the scallops must be completely dry or they won't brown and caramelize.

I seasoned both sides with salt and pepper, and then prepared my skillet.

Preparing my Cast Iron Skillet:

I set the skillet on medium heat and added 2-1/4 tablespoons of butter.

Then added the garlic and about 1 tablespoon of the freshly chopped chives.

Then I grated some fresh lemon rind right into the pan while everything was heating up.

Cooking the scallops:

Now I turned the heat up to the high setting and began cooking the scallops.

I didn't want to crowd the scallops in the pan so I only cooked 9 or 10 at a time.

I seared the scallops for exactly 2 minutes per side until both sides were nice and brown.

While I was searing the scallops I had the brown rice boiling. After the rice was finished and the scallops were seared I made my lemon butter sauce.

I added the remaining butter, grated more lemon rind, and one more tablespoon of the fresh chopped chives into the hot skillet.

Then I squeezed the juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon into the pan and stirred this around for about 15 seconds then removed the pan from the heat.

I placed the scallops over a bed of the brown rice poured some lemon butter sauce over the top and then garnished with fresh chopped chives. This turned out to be just a perfect meal for us on a Friday night. Serve this with a nice glass of your favorite white wine.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Kitchen tools I used to make these perfect pan seared scallops