For Perfect Grilled Scallops, Make Sure You Crank The Heat
Some proteins feel like classics on the grill: Steak, chicken, burgers, and hot dogs. But you can grill plenty of other things if you want to try them out in new and interesting ways. Though seafood may be a controversial grilling choice, with meatier fishes like salmon or swordfish tending to work far better than flakier ones like cod or haddock, there are creatures found in the ocean that do grill up quite nicely. One of them — which you may never have thought of trying before — is sea scallops.
Many chefs recommend against grilling scallops, but even they don't insist it can't be done, just that they prefer other methods. And while the classic preparation of scallops certainly doesn't go anywhere near a grill, you absolutely can grill them. It's like any other food — you just have to be smart about it, and with scallops, that starts with blisteringly high heat.
The trick really is heat, heat, and more heat
The traditional method of cooking sea scallops, which many chefs swear by, is pan-searing them while basting them with butter. This is a tried and true method, creating a golden-brown caramelized crust and really bringing out their flavor. But grilling them can work just as well.
First, you're going to want to make sure you oil the grill so they don't stick, and you're definitely going to want them on skewers; if you just set them right on there, they're likely to fall through the grates. But the real key here is the heat: You want to blast those suckers on the highest possible heat. It makes sense — it's similar in concept to the pan-searing method — because both cases apply intense heat to cook the scallops without overcooking them, which will turn them rubbery. If you do it right, the result is a smoky, charred scallop with a dimension of flavor wholly different from the pan-seared kind you're probably used to.
Scallops work on a grill if you're careful, but plenty of foods don't
It's important to note that while you can definitely grill scallops, some foods should be kept far away from the grill. Leafy greens seem obvious, with a tendency to wilt and fall through the grates, but plenty of people are out here trying to grill their Caesar salads, so it bears mentioning. Bacon is an outright disaster, as it requires steady, evenly applied heat to cook properly. Brisket is maybe the worst possible choice because while it's the king of barbecue meats, it only gets there with the help of low-and-slow smoking so that the connective tissue within can break down over time and suffuse the meat. When you grill it, all that happens is it toughens up.
Ultimately, knowing which foods to grill is like anything else: You have to be careful with how you do it. And while you may not have thought to cook scallops on a grill — and you need to do it the right way if you don't want the result to be a disaster — it's a fun preparation that can bring a whole new angle to your backyard cooking experience.