SHRIMP AND SCALLOPS

SAUTÉING SHRIMP POSES A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS. Overcooking will produce shrimp reminiscent of rubber, but shrimp cooked too little will have a mushy texture. Shrimp retains a lot of water, and it often steams while cooking instead of maintaining a steady sauté.

Given our general success of starting with a hot pan when sautéing, we cooked several batches of shrimp this way. High heat helped somewhat in our quest to keep the shrimp from steaming, but not enough. We ended up sautéing the shrimp in two batches, allowing the pan to hold its heat at a more consistent level. Cooking in batches also reduced the chances of overcooking the shrimp. Initially, we had too many shrimp to turn in too short a time; those placed in the pan at the beginning were rock-solid by the time the last shrimp was flipped.

We found that precise timing is the key to perfectly cooked shrimp. A few seconds made the difference between shrimp that was succulent or just barely edible. Jumbo shrimp allowed for a slightly larger margin of error in terms of cooking time than medium or large shrimp. There are no industry standards for sizing shrimp. Since all the terms are relative, buy shrimp according to the number it takes to make a pound. Shrimp labeled "16/20," for example, require 16 to 20 individual pieces to make a pound.

Once shrimp are purchased, they must be prepared for cooking. When sautéing, we found it best to peel the shrimp before cooking. (In contrast, shells protect shrimp when grilling.) Sautéed shrimp are always sauced, and it's much too hard to eat sauced shrimp that have their shells on. In addition, the shells prevent the sauce from flavoring the shrimp meat.

Shrimp preparation also raises the issue of deveining, which generates much controversy, even among experts. Although some people won't eat shrimp that has not been deveined, others believe that the "vein"—actually, the animal's intestinal tract—contributes flavor and insist on leaving it in. In our tests, we could not detect an effect (either positive or negative) on flavor when we left the vein in. The vein is generally so tiny in most medium-sized shrimp that it virtually disappears after cooking. Out of laziness, we leave it alone. In very large shrimp, the vein is usually larger as well. Very large veins can detract from the overall texture of the shrimp and are best removed before cooking.

Instead of using the more bountiful sauces that we developed for the other chapters in this book, we found that shrimp are best sauced with a concentrated glaze—something that can adhere to the shrimp. Scallops also work best with a glaze. Because the shrimp and scallop sauces are interchangeable, we are covering both kinds of shellfish here, in one chapter.

Without a doubt, sautéing is the best way to cook scallops. The high heat caramelizes the exterior to form a concentrated, nutty flavored crust. The caramelized exterior enhances the natural sweetness of the scallop and provides a nice, crisp contrast with the tender interior.

Unfortunately, many scallops are watery and steam rather than sauté when cooked in a hot pan. That's because most scallops (by some estimates up to 90 percent of the retail supply) are dipped in a phosphate and water mixture to extend their shelf life. During processing, scallops absorb water, which is then thrown off when they are cooked. You can't brown processed scallops in a skillet.

By law, processed scallops must be identified at the wholesale level, so ask your fishmonger. Also, look at the scallops. Scallops are naturally ivory or pinkish tan; processing turns them bright white. Processed scallops are slippery and swollen, and they usually sit in milky white liquid at the store. Unprocessed scallops (also called dry scallops) are sticky and flabby. If they are surrounded by any liquid (and often they are not), the juices are clear, not white.

As for the type of scallop, we found large sea scallops to be the best choice when sautéing. Because they can be left in the pan longer than small bay or calico scallops, they are better able to brown without overcooking.

To preserve the creamy texture of the flesh, we cooked the scallops to medium-rare, which means the scallop is hot all the way through but that the center still retains some translucence. As a scallop cooks, the soft flesh firms and you can see an opaqueness develop, starting at the bottom of the scallop, where it sits in the pan, and then slowly creeping up toward the center. The scallop is medium-rare when the sides have firmed up and all but about the middle third of the scallop has turned opaque.

Scallops will continue to cook via residual heat as they wait to be sauced, so don't hesitate to pull scallops from the pan when they look a bit underdone.