There’s nothing quite like a scallop. The buttery sweetness, the firm texture, the caramelized sear on the outside and just warmed tenderness of the inside… and yet there is something missing.
Here in North America, scallops are shucked and processed on the boat, the adductor muscle of which we all know as the scallop meat itself is severed from the shell, and the rest of the scallop is tossed overboard. The processing afterward creates either wet, dry, or frozen scallop meat that we can get at the fishmongers.
Wet scallops have been dipped in a preserving liquid that plumps them up, and whitens them as "that’s what consumers want" (or so they thought years ago). The resulting meat looks very white and fat when you buy it. However, as soon as it hits the pan, water is released and the flavourless meat tightens up and gets rubbery. Probably the reason that most people get put off of scallops. I hear through the grapevine that this process is being phased out — yippee!
Dry sea scallops have not been touched, just put in a container. They’re either frozen if harvested by a big fisher that goes out to the scallop beds for days on end or brought to shore fresh and shipped within hours of landing. The resulting colour of the scallops ranges between off-white, beige, cream, to light pinks and corals. These scallops are more highly prized by chefs and their customers as that perfect golden sear, and the buttery flavour, comes through to the plate. Lovely and sweet, yet there is still something missing.
When the scallop is shucked in Europe, the shucker is careful to remove the scallop meat AND the roe that is attached to the side of the muscle. The coral-coloured roe is the caviar of the scallop and is tossed overboard here in North America. I can’t seem to get an explanation to this one except that it’s just how it has been done since time began — "no one wants that pink stuff."
Luckily, however, scallops are now being aquacultured on scallop farms in both Nova Scotia, and British Columbia. At Starfish, I am getting a lovely Weathervane Scallop from B.C. and soon the Atlantic sea scallops will come online. They arrive to my back door, whole in the shell, and like oysters they can be enjoyed on the half-shell — alive and kicking. Sometimes, the scallop will dance on the shell, especially when the lemon hits it.
I love to show the scallop on the half, whole, and in-tact if it is small enough. The B.C. scallops come in at 5-6" in diameter, and are so large that I have to break it up into three parts:
The mantle, which is the outer part of the scallop, is very firm, crunchy, salty and meaty like a water chestnut. The adductor muscle (the scallop meat as we all know) is firm, delicate and all butter. The roe is velvety in texture and tastes of unsalted caviar — a sweet finish.
It is a beautiful thing to see when it comes to the plate and, as these scallops are aquacultured, they are softer on the environment than the traditional dragging or dredging methods to get the regular scallops — that’s a longer story though, and best asked for over the Oyster Bar with a glass of Sancere. See you soon, scallops arrive Thursdays.
Shuckingly yours, Paddy
Patrick McMurray is the owner of Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill and The Ceili Cottage. He is also a World Champion Oyster Shucker. Catch his blog weekly at PostCity.com.
