If you’re a fan of large Sea Scallops, you’re going to love this recipe. I show you the very best way to cook them before adding any sauce, then I show you a “Secret Sauce” that I like to use on seafood that is just to die for. I use this sauce in my Salt and Pepper Calamari recipe and many other seafood related dishes. So, you can either learn the perfect and simple way of cooking these scallops or you can kick it up a notch and try this sweet and spicy Asian sauce.
Raw Sea Scallops straining in a colander.
Dry the Sea Scallops
For me, Sea Scallops aren’t the easiest to find and they usually come frozen. So, unless you live ocean side and lucky enough to buy them fresh, this is how you’ll find them. They need to be thawed to room temperature and strained. Then dabbed on paper towels to completely dry them out before cooking. Scallops have a ton of water in them already so, you don’t need to add any more to the pan when they’re being seared. A dry seasoned scallop will sear better and you’ll cut down on splatter.
Asian Sauce I use for many seafood recipes.
Secret Sauce for Sea Scallops
There are many different sauce recipes you can add to your cooked Sea Scallops. My two favorites are a white wine, garlic and Butter sauce and this “Secret” Asian Sauce. The Butter sauce is as easy as it sounds and it’s done in the pan after the scallops are cooked. The Asian Sauce is a mixture of 3 bottled sauces that, when mixed together, make one amazing dipping sauce and they can all be purchased from practically any Asian market or grocery store that sell oriental products. The bottled sauces are Hoisin Sauce, Black Bean Garlic Sauce and Sweet Chili Sauce.
I also have the most amazing Saffron Sauce recipe for Sea Scallops and I highly recommend you consider that recipe too before diving into this one. It’s like liquid gold!
Sea Scallops with Asian Secret Sauce from the PMGK YouTube Channel.
Sea Scallops Ingredients:
1 lbs Sea Scallops 2 tbsp Bacon Grease or Lard 1 Clove Garlic 1 tbsp Butter 1 pinch Blackened Seasoning Kosher Salt and Pepper to Taste
Asian Sauce
1 part Black Bean Garlic Sauce 1 part Hoisin Sauce 2 parts Sweet Chili Sauce
Just watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to cook these Sea Scallops and make the secret Asian sauce.
This is, absolutely, hands down, the Best Grilled Lobster that I have ever had and it is so easy to prepare and grill. The hardest part is dispatching a live lobster, if that sort of thing bothers you, but I show you the most humane way to do it and the quickest way to to clean and sanitize your lobsters, before grilling. But, this tutorial isn’t just a how to, I give you the best secret sauce recipe to saturate the meat and it makes the lobster more savory and succulent than you could’ve ever imagined.
3 Pound Grilled Lobster
I’ve been waiting a long time to show you how I cook a Grilled Lobster. The reason being that, up until now, there wasn’t anywhere near by selling live lobsters. A while back I filmed and posted about my local Oriental Market. Well, right next door, another Asian market, about the size of Walgreen’s, opened with a large variety of seafood options, including live crab and lobster tanks. I was so excited. The only problem was, they only had dungeness crabs. I talked to the owner and checked back weekly for several months but they were really having a hard time finding a vendor with reasonable prices that would deliver to this area. Long story short, they found one. I’m still not ecstatic about the price but at least, now, they are available. And thanks to my Patrons, I was able to walk in there last week and say, “Give me the biggest one!”
How much does a 3 lbs Grilled Lobster Cost?
This Grilled Lobster ain’t no joke and at these prices, who’s laughing? I mean, if this is the market price, can you imagine what a 3 pound lobster would cost in a Restaurant. The basic philosophy and justification behind restaurant cost is basic biz 101;supply and demand, overhead and employment cost and of course profit. The easiest way to calculate this equation is to take the cost of the product and times that price by 3. I paid $46.03, American, for this lobster. So, in a nutshell, a restaurant would charge you close to $160!
YouTube Trolls often comment, “Poor Man’s my Ass” on my videos because they don’t grasp or understand this concept. Also the fact that there is a time and a place for everything. I don’t buy expensive food and cook and eat like this all the time. That’s just ridiculous. But, occasionally, for holidays or a special dinner, with my wife and family, I make an exception. And the more of you that choose to get involved with my work, can help me make this happen, for you, more often.
Also, ironically, if you google, “lobster food history”, you’ll find that lobster was considered “Poor Man’s” food and served only to people and families in poverty.
Dispatching a Live Grilled Lobster
It’s always best to cook fresh and the only way to cook a fresh Grilled Lobster is to dispatch a live one. This isn’t for the faint of heart but I strongly believe it’s for the greater good.
The last 100 hundred years or so we’ve gotten away from such practices and we no longer appreciate what we are eating. We live in a world of instant gratification and all of the work that goes into the hamburgers we all love to eat so much is taken for granted. We need to get more hands on and stop filling our heads with delusions that it’s wrong to do it or that it’s okay as long as someone else is doing it.
That being said, I show you the most humane way to dispatch a live lobster in the video. The only thing I didn’t mention, however, is the fact that I placed the lobster in a more dormant state before doing so. A lobsters normal habitat and water temp can vary between 45 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on where it’s from. So, you can place the lobster in colder temperatures, like a sink full of ice water or a freezer, for 20 to 30 minutes, and the lobster will become more calm and docile. This hibernation like state is considered, by many, to be the more humane way to take a lobsters life with a quick plunge of a sharp knife to the back of the head. It’s quick and virtually painless.
Now all you have to do is clean the cavity and harvest the goods.
Grilled Lobster Tomalley and Roe
Before you cook your Grilled Lobster, you have to clean it. Technically you can just throw them on the grill without doing so but there are a few things you should know about. First is the Tomalley, which controls the digestive glands in the lobster. Second is the Roe and it’s more or less lobster caviar. Both are considered a delicacy but in truth, I don’t care for either. The picture above is the Roe and it can be served raw or cooked. Generally you just mix in some salt. The Tomalley can be used as a spread, like butter but it’s best to just leave it alone and wash it down your sink, like I do in the video. There are health risks associated to eating Tomalley, so proceed with caution. Also, the same way you devien shrimp, you can devien lobster.
Eating Grilled Lobster
You’re Grilled Lobster can, technically, be baked if you prefer or if you just don’t want to grill. In all honesty the grill just adds that smokey flavor which can be achieved with liquid smoke if you’re cooking in the oven, but still want the grilling taste. The secret sauce recipe I give you below is more of a paste or a “topping”, if you will, that should be applied towards the end of the cooking. Make sure the meat is well moisturized with some olive oil, beforehand, so the lobster doesn’t dry out and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 1/2 minutes per ounce before applying the butter paste topping. If any of the topping mix is left, when it’s done, just add a few tbsp more of melted butter for dipping.
You can eat the Claws, Arms, Tail and you can use a rolling pin to squeeze meat out of the legs. There’s more meat at the base of the legs and in the body than most people realize, so be sure to check every nook and cranny.
2 lobsters
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves
5 Fresh Basil Leaves(do not use dried)
2 Green Onions
4 tbsp Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Water for steaming
After the lobsters have been cleaned, steam them in a couple inches of water for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on their size.
Then Grill as instructed in the video for an additional 5 to 10 minutes before applying the Garlic, Basil, Onion and Butter paste.
Use half the butter for the paste and the other half for dipping the Grilled Lobster meat.
This Greek Tzatziki Sauce recipe is about as good as it gets and it can be used for many different recipes. My personal favorite is with Greek Gyros, just like the recipe I posted last week. I promised you I would show you how to make this secret sauce so that you could finalize your own personal experience making these your self and I’m making good on that here today. This sauce is sweet, creamy and full of flavor. It’s exactly what every home cook needs in their refrigerator on a regular basis because it pairs so well with meats, seafood, vegetables and baked goods like Pita Bread, Pretzels and Bagels.
The Secret to Tzatziki Sauce
In my opinion, there are a few key ingredients that gives Tzatziki Sauce its unique and authentic taste. Greek Yogurt is one of them. It’s very rich, creamy and doesn’t taste much like American or other foreign yogurts. White Wine Vinegar is the other ingredient that gives this recipe it’s flavor. Not only is it added to the yogurt, it’s added to the grated cucumber with a pinch of kosher salt so it can marinate and release the juice that needs to be strained before it’s added to the sauce. Dill is the herb that really enhances the flavor as well, so feel free to add as much as you like because Tzatziki Sauce is usually swimming with it.
Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients:
1 Cucumber, grated & juiced
1 pinch Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar, mix with cucumber
1 cup Greek Yogurt, Honey flavored is best
1 Garlic Clove, minced
3 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar, mix with yogurt
1 tbsp Dill
Be sure to strain the cucumber juice after marination is complete and follow the instructions in the Tzatziki Sauce video recipe.
