Sea Scallops with Orange Tarragon Butter Sauce on the Grill

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
• 2 tbsp white-wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp chopped shallots
• 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted butter, cut into 16 equal pieces, chiled
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp chopped freshly ground black pepper, to taste (for sauce)
• 16 large sea scallops (2 lbs)
• canola or safflower oil for brushing
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (for scallops)

Serves:  4

1. The sauce:  Bring the wine, vinegar, and shallots to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat.  Cook until the liquid has reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat to very low.  Whisk in he butter, one piece at a time, until each piece is almost incorporated into the sauce, before adding the next one.  Te butter should soften into an ivory sauce – it should not melt.  Occasionally pull the saucepan off the burner to keep an eye on the heat.  You should finish mixing he butter into the sauce within a couple of minutes.  Stir in the the orange zest and the tarragon, and season with salt and pepper.  Set the saucepan into  a skillet of very hot, though not simmering, water, to keep warm for up to 30 minutes.
2. Lightly brush the grill grate with oil.  Sparingly brush the scallops with the oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Place the scallops over high heat  and cover.  Cook until the undersides are seared with grill marks, about 2 minutes.  Turn, cover, and sear the other sides, about 2 minutes more.  Move the scallops to the cooler area of the grill, and cover.  Grill until the scallops feel firm when pressed, about 3 more minutes.
3. Spoon equal amounts of the sauce on 4 dinner plates.  Top each with 4 scallops and serve.

Like shrimp, sea scallops need very little time on the grill.  Unlike shrim, they don’t need deveining, though if you buy scallops whole, they may require shucking (less commonly purchased this way).  Regardless, grilled sea scallops are worth the effort. They are best served moist, nearly raw in the center , and nicely seared, which means they should only be on the grill about 7 minutes.  The sauce will add a nice bit of complexity by bringing in the bitter-citrus notes that mesh so nicely with the aromatic tarragon.

As spring has arrived and summer is just around the corner try this delicious recipe when you fire up your grill next!Sea Scallops

(adapted from Kingsford Complete Grilling Cookbook)