BBQ Kimchi Scallops
Ingredients
Prep-time 25 mins.
Serves 4-6 people.
1 dozen fresh scallops
Compound butter:
¼ C Butter, softened
¼ C Kimchi
1 Tbsp Gochujang
1 Green onion, chopped
¼ tsp Sesame oil
Chef’s tip: Simplify or complicate. Grill some plain - no shucking, no butter. They should pop open naturally once cooked through. You can drizzle some melted compound butter on afterwards if you like, but it’s nice to try them plain to really appreciate their sweet briny flavor.
You can also try different or additional ingredients in the compound butter. Rendered bacon lardons, a dash of vinegar, some chopped up seaweed. Whatever you like!
Artwork by Adrian McKerracher
Preparation
Preheat BBQ to 350F.
Make compound butter. Mix all ingredients together and set aside.
Prepare scallops. Use a scallop knife, a flexible fillet knife or any other knife at least 6” long. Fold up a kitchen towel and hold the scallop at the base with your non-dominant hand, being sure the towel is between your hand and the scallop for your safety. With your other hand, carefully slide the knife in from the front of the shell, if the scallop is open, or from the side of the shell if it is clamped shut. Hug the blade against the shell and sever the adductor muscle (the main part of the scallop) from the shell. It should open nicely as soon as you slice the muscle. Repeat motion on opposite shell, severing the adductor on that side. Trim off and discard the green/brown stomach nearest the hinge of the shell.
Add kimchi butter and cook. Add 1 Tbsp of kimchi butter on top of each scallop, cover with the shell and put on the BBQ with the lid down for 5-8 minutes until juices are bubbling and scallop is just cooked through.
Enjoy! Best eaten fresh. The whole scallop is edible and delicious, not just the white meat in the middle. Serve these on the shell and enjoy getting messy slurping up all of the rich, savoury goodness!
Get Inspired & Messy
We’re proud of all of our family, friends and the fisher-people who harvest and process seafood with Walcan Seafood and Tide to Table!
The We Wai Kai Nation cultivate and harvest scallops in their cold, fast moving waters off of Rebecca Spit Provincial Park. A video will be shared soon about this exciting program and collaboration.
Scallops will be seasonally available fresh or frozen. Frozen scallops are treated to the same flash freezing process used to prepare sushi grade fish; these are a premium product.