Saturday, May 31, 2008

Bourbon-Maple Scallops



This recipe came from a failed cedar-planked salmon experiment I had last week. The marinade was originally for grilled salmon on a cedar plank.

I liked the combination of flavors in the marinade, so I decided to try it with scallops. First, I tried it on a wood plank. I really disliked the taste of the wood planks. Maybe it was the type of wood I had. I was surprised because I've had wood-grilled scallops before, and I've liked them.

Next, I made the scallops without the wood planks. That's much better! The scallops are sweet and tender. The syrup and the bourbon combine and create pure deliciousness with the scallops. This recipe gets a big thumbs-up!


Bourbon-Maple Scallops

1 pound of fresh sea scallops
1/4 cup Bourbon
1/4 cup grade B maple syrup
2 Tbs olive oil
salt
pepper

Lightly score the tops and bottoms of the scallops with a crosshatch pattern (a slanted tic-tac-toe board). Only let the knife go through the surface slightly.

Whisk the liquids and seasonings together. Add the scallops and let them marinate in the liquid for 15-30 minutes. Saute on a medium-high flame for 2-3 minute per side. Try to only turn over once.

Drizzle the pan juices over the top and serve.



5 comments:

Andre LeFort said...

I'll be making these tomorrow, I can't wait!

I wonder, do you see a problem with me marinating these overnight? I've never marinated scallops before...

Cheers!

puppymomma said...

Thank you, Andre.

I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that the flavor would be too strong. I was surprised how much flavor these had with the short marinating time I used. But go ahead and try! Let me know if it's good. I bet others will also be curious about the marinating time.

Good Luck!
Meryl

Anonymous said...

this is nice. i made seared honey scallops with a mango relish for a client recently. they loooved it. I'll be posting it soon as you've inspired that!

Andre LeFort said...

@Meryl, turns out marinating it overnight was an excellent idea. I reduced the bourbon some, just a dab less than a 1/4 cup to account for the longer marinating time.

They turned out to be amazingly flavourful, and found the overnight marinating was needed.

Cheers, the guests and myself loved them!

puppymomma said...

@Andre - That's good news! Thanks for sharing. I'll have to try it myself. :)

BTW, a friend of mine said she did try the marinade with salmon and it is also excellent.

I'm so glad people are having good results.

Meryl