Good morning folks,
I spent most of this weekend doing the things I like to do. Getting the back patio porch cleaned up and ready for spring, planting tomatoes and flowers (just not in the same spot), and cooking on the grill. All in all it was a good weekend. Michelle is winding down on her school work so things are not quite as harried around here, and I wanted to do a meal that we could enjoy while sitting in the nice breeze blowing across the patio up here in the hinterlands. This meal turned out to be Grilled Orange Scallops. This was a simple dish to put together and was perfect for the evening.
I went by our local seafood seller’s place and picked out about 6 large scallops, a couple of very large navel oranges and some white asparagus. Then, I added a side salad, some cheddar grits (we are in the south you know) and away we went.
There isn’t a whole lot of difficulty in this one. The only special tool I used was the zester for the orange. If you do not want to grill these they can be done on the stove, but it is more fun on the grill. I would prepare for cooking scallops first and then do the sauce. Did you know that a scallop has a foot? Neither did I, but I was told I needed to remove it before I cooked them. This was part of the preparing that needed to be done. Put the scallops on the grill after the sauce has thickened a little. Do make sure that the grill is cleaned, well oiled and very hot so that they sear quickly and you do not tear the scallops when you turn them.
Let’s get started:
Grilled Orange Scallops for Man Food Mondays
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 2
Ingredients
- Grilled Orange Scallops
- 2 navel oranges – Zest one and juice it. Cross cut slice the other 1/2 inch thick pieces
- 6 Large scallops
Orange sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha chilli sauce
- 2 tablespoons EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Prepare Scallops by removing the foot and patting them dry. Refrigerate on a plate until ready to grill.
- Zest the first orange and squeeze the juice.. You should have about 2/3 cup of orange juice.
- Place 1 tablespoon orange zest and all of the orange juice in a sauce pan Add olive oil, honey, vinegar, garlic and Dijon mustard, simmer to thickened. Stir in Sriracha and set aside.
- Make sure the grill is clean and oiled. You will “cook” the orange slices and the scallops on the grate, so it needs to be clean of any past meats so that there is no crossover of flavors.
- Heat grill to high high heat. Using a grill brush, clean the grill then reheat. Once the grate is hot again, oil liberally with low smoke oil, (canola, grape seed oil, etc.). This is done to make sure the scallops do not stick to the grate and pull apart when you turn them.
- Put the oranges and the scallops on at the same time. You want nice grill marks on the Oranges. Grill the scallops for 4 min on one side and 2 on the other. Keep an eye on them so they do not over cook or burn, same is true for the orange slices. Orange slices and scallops should be done around the same time.
- Once done remove from grill and serve immediately.
Courses Entree
I served the scallops on top of the grilled orange slices topped with the orange Sriracha and orange zest sauce on top, along with a cheddar cheese grits dish (recipe in the near future if you want it), white asparagus (also drizzled with the sauce) that were steamed in water and butter with a pinch of salt, and a salad using the dressing Michelle published yesterday from her Salad Niçoise.
So, that’s about it. I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we did.
Take care.
Steve
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