What’s the secret to Tender, buttery-soft scallops that melt in your mouth? Sous vide cooking. These Sous Vide Scallops are cooked in a temperature-controlled water bath for 30 minutes and then seared in mouthwatering garlic brown butter sauce for a restaurant-worthy meal at home.
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Cooking scallops with the sous vide method is one of our favorite seafood recipes to make! Most people think of bacon-wrapped scallops as the only way to cook these bad boys. However, sous vide cooking is a great way to avoid overcooked scallops. With this recipe, you can achieve restaurant-quality scallops in the comfort of your own home.
What Are Sous Vide Scallops?
Cooking sous vide is a great technique as it cooks food evenly without much effort, thanks to an immersion circulator and heated water bath. Not only is it a perfect technique for cooking scallops, but it’s also a method we use with all types of food, like sous vide rack of lamb and sous vide flat iron steak when we know we want a perfect doneness.
The sous vide process involves placing the scallops in a vacuum-sealed bag and cooking them in a temperature-controlled water bath for a set cook time. Once they’re cooked, we then sear them in a hot skillet with some garlic and butter to get that nice brown crust on the outside.
The result is beautiful scallops that are perfect as an appetizer or for adding to this summer scallop and crab pasta.
Sous Vide Scallops Ingredients
We recommend enjoying this scallop recipe fresh. You can adjust the quantity of this recipe (adding more or less) for how many people you’re serving so that you don’t waste any.
- Colossal sea scallops – You can usually find scallops in the seafood section of your grocery store. If not, you can check out the best places to buy meat online.
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh parsley
- Salted butter
- Kosher Salt and pepper to garnish
How to Make Perfect Scallops in a Sous Vide Machine
First, prep the Sous Vide machine for a 120-degree F water bath.
Then, remove scallops from the package and pat them dry with paper towels. Next, arrange the scallops in a vacuum seal bag with a tablespoon of butter.
Next, vacuum seal the bag, pressing the scallops to keep them in a single layer.
Now, place the bag in the preheated water bath and use a weight to keep the bag submerged. Then, sous vide the scallops for 30 minutes.
Then, remove them from the water bath, remove the scallops from the bag, and pat them dry. We want them as dry as possible before searing them. Meanwhile, preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it’s just starting to smoke.
Now, add 2 tbsp butter and garlic and swirl to coat, allowing the butter to become nutty and fragrant. Keep cooking until the butter is lightly brown. Then, add the scallops and give them a quick sear for 60 – 90 seconds for a golden brown crust.
Finally, flip the scallops and remove the pan from the heat. Then, add the remaining butter and sliced garlic to the hot pan. Sprinkle in the parsley. Then, baste the scallops in the melted butter while the bottoms sear in the hot pan.
Immediately transfer the scallops to a serving dish and drizzle the garlicky brown butter sauce over top. Finally, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, salt, and minced parsley, and serve.
Girl Carnivore Expert Recipe Tips
- Set the timer on your sous vide machine to the correct cook time. We don’t want to overcook the scallops, or they can become tough and lose flavor.
- If the butter burns when preheating the pan, you will need to start all over again in a clean pan.
- Sprinkle a little lemon zest or parmesan cheese on top for a little extra flavor.
What to Serve With Sous Vide Scallops
These delicious scallops would pair really well with some roasted asparagus and domino potatoes for a tasty gourmet meal. Or get really fancy and serve this over roasted veggie risotto or creamed spinach.
Wine Pairing
If you’re a wine drinker, we recommend pairing your scallops with a buttery white wine like chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.
More Seafood Recipes
With this easy cooking method, you can make delicious scallops at home. The sous vide method allows you to get perfectly cooked scallops without the guesswork.
Sous Vide Scallops
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Colossal sea scallops
- 3 tbsp Unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 5 Garlic cloves 3 cloves whole, 2 smashed and sliced thin
- 1 tsp freshly minced parsley
- Salt and pepper to garnish
Instructions
Sous Vide the Scallops
- Prep the Sous Vide machine for a 120 degrees F water bath
- Remove scallops from the package and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Arrange the scallops in a vacuum seal bag with a tablespoon of butter.
- Vacuum seal the bag, pressing the scallops to keep them in one layer.
- Place the bag in the preheated water bath and use a weight to keep the bag submerged.
- Sous vide the scallops for 30 minutes.
Sear the Scallops
- Remove from the water bath and then remove the scallops from the bag and pat them dry.
- Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat until it’s just starting to smoke.
- Add 2 tbsp butter and garlic and swirl to coat, allowing the butter to become nutty and fragrant.*
- Add the scallops and sear for 60 – 90 seconds for a golden crust.
- Flip the scallops, remove the pan from the heat,
- Add the remaining butter and sliced garlic to the hot pan.
- Sprinkle in the parsley.
- Baste the scallops in the melted butter while the bottoms sear in the hot pan
Serve
- Immediately transfer the scallops to a serving dish and drizzle the garlic butter over top.
- Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, salt and minced parsley and serve.
Notes
- Set the timer on your sous vide machine to the correct cook time. We don’t want to overcook the scallops, or they can become tough and lose flavor.
- Sprinkle a little lemon zest or parmesan cheese on top for a little extra flavor.
Nutrition
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Save Recipe BookmarkRecipe FAQs
It’s not necessary! Just pat them dry and add them to the vacuum-sealed bag.
You can use frozen scallops as long as you completely defrost them first. We don’t recommend adding frozen scallops to the sous vide machine. Yes, you can cook from frozen, but we find the extra moisture in the bag changes the finished texture.
The internal temperature should be 125-130 degrees F with an instant-read thermometer.
