I wanted to try something different than the usual meat and snacks that the holidays offer. No carb comas at my house this year! After a salad, I wanted a light course to continue the meal. I choose to make scallops. This dish started with frozen scallops. I know what your going to say 'frozen scallops', but when thinking about the pressure of vacuum sealing I figured the freezing would help them maintain their shape better than a fresh scallop that would have been turned into a scallop pancake. After seasoning the butter with salt and pepper I placed all the ingredients in the vac bag and sealed them. They went into a make shift sous vide water bath, I now, thanks to my wife, have the real deal. The bath was set to 124 F and I let them take a leisurely swim for 40 minutes. I gave them a little extra time since they were frozen.
While they relaxed in the hot tub I created a very simply sauce of roasted red peppers, a dab of sour cream and a pinch of chili pepper for a hint of heat, along with the customary salt and pepper. Then I took it all for a spin in the food processor until smooth and creamy. I used a squeeze bottle for plating the sauce which makes things very easy and ascetically pleasing.
Around now, the scallops were about ready to dry off from their swim, I may have enjoyed a cocktail at this point as well. I heated up the cast iron skillet with a little olive oil and strained bacon fat, that I just happened to have left from breakfast and got the skillet flame thrower hot. My infrared thermometer was reading just over 500 F so I pulled the scallops out patted them dry and seared them in the pan for about a minute or so on each side, just enough to create that beautiful crust on each side. With a bit of the pepper sauce drizzled on the plate along with a garnish of endive and a lemon wedge they were served.
The result was fabulous! A nice crust on the outside with a perfectly cooked center, a nice rich and creamy sauce with just a hint of heat. The lemon wedge was never even used by myself or any of the others crowed around the table. You can judge the results of the dish yourself by trying it yourself or just taking a looking at the photo!
Even though the 124 F temperature seemed to be excellent, I will try other temps in the near future and post results for your edification!
Until then, remember a cocktail in your hand while your cooking helps make mistakes alright!
