The 1 Way You Should Never Cook Frozen Scallops, According to a Chef

You may be familiar with scallops as the buttery, cylindrical pucks of sweet, fishy goodness on which only a restaurant can achieve a crusty sear.

But, we promise, you can do the same at home, as long as you follow an expert’s tips — starting with the way you shop for scallops.

“One of the reasons that people think they ruin scallops is because of the kind of scallops they’re buying,” Shawn Matijevich, lead chef-instructor for the Online Culinary Arts and Food Operations program at the Institute of Culinary Education, tells TODAY.com.

He says, if you’re after a crispy, seared scallop, you simply can’t buy frozen.

My fresh scallops searing in a cast-iron pan. (Joseph Lamour / TODAY)

“The only scallops you’re ever gonna use for seared scallops are ‘dry-pack scallops,’” Matijevich says, adding that many seafood counters at local supermarkets have them. “Sometimes, they’ll just say ‘dry scallops,’ and that’s fine.”

If you’re wondering what the difference is, many frozen scallops for sale in the U.S. have been soaked in a solution that contains sodium tripolyphosphate, which classifies them as “wet-pack scallops.”

This additive causes scallops to absorb and retain moisture before they’re frozen, but when they thaw, they let that solution out in addition to the water they originally contained.

“As soon as those hit the pan, all that water leaks out of them, and it’s not your fault,” Matijevich says.

When these scallops are seared, even when thawed, drained and patted dry, more liquid will escape from them, dropping the pan’s temperature and preventing that crust you want.

“When it leeches out the juice, it’s iridescent, it’s disgusting,” he says — then adds a caveat.

“I’m not saying I don’t use those because I do,” he clarifies. “I love the Trader Joe’s ones, but I don’t try to sear them. I’ll use them in a sauce or a soup or something like that.”

The Best Way to Sear Scallops

My perfectly-seared dry-pack scallops. (Joseph Lamour / TODAY)

Matijevich says home cooks need to make sure their scallops are really dry before they go in the pan. He uses paper towels to “get any excess moisture off of them.”

His instructions: Find a heavy-bottomed, very flat pan, turn your burner on medium-high heat and add a little bit of your favorite cooking oil. High-smoke-point oils like avocado, peanut or canola will give you a stronger sear.

“You want to put enough oil as thick as you want the crust on the scallop, so probably like an eighth of an inch of oil in the pan,” he says. “Wait until you just barely start to see smoke.”

As soon as those wisps of smoke begin to appear, carefully put your scallops in and turn the heat down to medium. “Just let them coast until that crust develops,” he instructs.

Matijevich says, if you’re working with larger scallops, you can flip them to get crusty on the other side, repeating the process until they’re done to your liking.

My perfectly-seared dry pack scallops. (Joseph Lamour / TODAY)

“I like a medium,” he says. “The longer you cook them, the tougher they get.”

Stirred by Matijevich’s advice, I decided to buy both frozen and fresh scallops to see the differences for myself. For the very first time in my life, I seared scallops at home — and they came out well!

I first seared my fresh, dry-pack scallops in about one-eighth of an inch of avocado oil, waiting for those wisps of smoke and seared them on each side. Golden brown, my scallops went well with a side of mashed potatoes and an asparagus puree.

My attempt to sear frozen scallops. (Joseph Lamour / TODAY)

And, although searing my frozen scallops didn’t produce the kind of iridescent runoff that he mentioned, it did sputter about twice as much as the fresh scallops did, sending oil all over my kitchen. My taste-testers also told me that the dry-packed scallops tasted juicier and richer than the frozen ones, too.

Mistakes to Avoid When Searing Scallops

All in all, searing scallops is pretty straightforward — coming from someone who has now seared scallops to perfection on two separate occasions, using Matijevich’s instructions.

But there are certainly pitfalls you want to avoid when it comes to scallop preparation — including overcooking them, putting them in when they’re wet or overcrowding the pan.

“If you want a crust, you need to have space in there,” he says, adding that the temperature needs to stay hot, so make sure to give your scallops some breathing room, or else you’ll have seafood you can bounce off the dinner table.

“If they’re leaking out a bunch of water, it can only get as hot as boiling water, and that’s not hot enough to make a crust,” he says. “It’ll just get rubbery instead of nice and tender.”