Sea scallops are a perfect date night dinner. They’re fast, easy, and extremely impressive.
They’re also on the pricey side.
This makes them an excellent choice for a starter course.
Sea Scallops
Sea scallops (the big ones) are sometimes sized like shrimp at a number per pound. You might see it as either 20/30, meaning there are 20-30 in a pound or U/10 meaning there are 10 or under in a pound.

photo credit to https://www.farm-2-market.com/ seafood market
Bay Scallops
Bay scallops are the little bitty ones. They run about 70-120 per pound. While they are actually sweeter and more delicate, they are so tiny that they are not well suited to searing. They are great, however, in a quick sauté or ceviche.

photo credit to https://www.farm-2-market.com/ seafood market
Scallop Portions
To figure how many sea scallops you want per serving, a full entrée serving would be about 4 ounces which would be about 6 – 20/30 or 3 – U/10 size.
Although in my experience, 4 ounces of anything doesn’t make a husband serving.
Regardless, for a starter you could easily do a half size portion so just a couple large scallops per person. This makes it more reasonably priced since they run about $20 per pound.
But so does anything good these days amiright?!
Buying Scallops
The most important thing with scallops, just like shrimp, is that you want them UNTREATED. Scallops are often treated with a phosphate solution to make them whiter and absorb more liquid. Not only will you pay more money for added moisture, but it has a crappy flavor and makes them nearly impossible to sear. Only buy scallops labeled ‘dry’ or ‘chemical free’.
Scallops naturally range from white to pinkish. This does not affect the flavor. The most important thing is to pick scallops that are the exact same size so that they will cook evenly.
Sauteed Scallops with Champagne Butter
The sweet flavor of the scallops is perfectly balanced by this rich champagne butter sauce and the grapefruit adds a beautiful hit of acid to balance the whole dish.
And as usual with my recipes, you’ll have ¾ of a bottle of champagne left for you to enjoy.
You earned it cooking such a fab dish!

Sauteed Scallops with Champagne Butter
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3/4 cup champagne
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 whole grapefruit, supremed and diced
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 6-8 large sea scallops
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a very small saucepan, simmer champagne and shallot until reduced to 2 tablespoons, this will take less than five minutes. Off heat stir in salt and butter, cover and set aside.
- Heat oil in a 10 inch sauté pan over high heat until almost smoking.
- Pat scallops very dry. Sprinkle with salt and add to pan.
- Cook without disturbing for two to three minutes until very golden brown.
- Add butter to pan, and swirl pan to distribute butter around scallops.
- Turn scallops over and cook until just opaque about 1-2 minutes. This will depend on the size.
- Spoon champagne butter on the plate, top with scallops and scatter grapefruit over.
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