Not too many people are brave enough to try and cook any kind of seafood in a microwave. Even though the microwave has proven to do so much more than heat food up; people still doubt the power of a good ole microwave.
Scallops are one of those food people do not dare to throw in the microwave. Scallops are in the oyster family, and the inside of them bad boys taste delicious when you cook them. They are naturally sweet, but cooked in savory dishes and are very tender. Scallops can be cooked in many different ways. You can pan-sear, bake, boil, grill, and even smoke them!
But why would you want to go through all that trouble? Dinner can go by so much quicker if you could throw the scallops in a microwave, but can you microwave scallops? You would be surprised at the things that a microwave can cook. There are a ton of foods that you can cook in a microwave. You can cook frozen meals, hot dogs, bacon, eggs, soup, and a whole lot more.
You might have never dared to even ask if you can microwave scallops, but the truth is that you absolutely can cook scallops in a microwave!
Is It Safe to Microwave Scallops?
It is definitely safe to cook scallops in the microwave. First of all, the only real concern that could cause harm by cooking anything in the microwave is the food not cooking properly. However, scallops have been known to be eaten raw! People eat raw seafood a lot.
For example, they eat raw seafood in dishes like sushi and ceviche. Although there is always a risk when eating raw seafood, it is a very popular way to consume it. If you’re concerned about undercooking scallops in the microwave, at least you can have some peace of mind knowing that people are consuming them raw across the world. And they are not falling dead.
Now, if you’re concerned about overcooking scallops, I think that is a more reasonable fear when it comes to microwaving them. Microwaves aren’t the best at cooking food evenly. This is why microwaves have rotating plates in them; to try and help the microwaves evenly cook or heat the food. If you’ve ever microwaved anything, you’ve probably already had one of those experiences where half of the food was scorching hot and the other half cold.
I present to you the issues of microwave cooking. Regardless of whether you’ll be able to master microwaving scallops, keep in mind that it is perfectly safe to cook them in the microwave.
How to Cook Scallops in the Microwave
How can you microwave scallops? There are actually a lot of microwaved scallops recipes out there. You can cook scallops in the microwave tossed in butter, mixed with different types of vegetables, and covered in different sauces.
People have gotten really creative in coming up with delicious ways to cook scallops in the microwave. How are they cooking them? Well, a lot of those recipes have you microwaving them in the butter or sauce itself, but I am going to teach you how to cook scallops in the microwave plain. The first thing you do is get an 8 x 8 microwavable baking dish.
Place the scallops in the dish in a single layer, not stacked on top of each other. Cover the dish with plastic wrap. Poke a couple of holes on the top of the plastic for the steam to escape during the cooking process. Microwave the scallops on high for 2 minutes. Then, rotate the scallops in the plate and microwave them again for 1-2 minutes until the scallops are no longer see-through. The texture of the inside of the scallop should be flaky.
After this, you can make a delicious sauce to go with your scallops if you would like. Regardless of how you fix them, now you know how to cook scallops in the microwave.
How to Cook Frozen Scallops in the Microwave
You’ve learned how to microwave scallops. Now you can cook delicious scallops in a very simple and fast method. Scallops are sold fresh and frozen at grocery stores. If you have frozen scallops that you want to cook, you should thaw them out by placing them in the fridge the night before.
However, many people forget to do this or might impulsively choose to cook scallops without thawing them out ahead of time. What do you do if the only scallops you happen to have are still frozen? Well, you will need to add one more step to the scallop microwaving process. The first thing you will have to do is defrost them. You can do this by placing the scallops in a plastic storage bag and sealing it tight.
Try to get as much air out of the storage bag before closing it. Then, you place the bagged scallops in a bowl of cold water to thaw out. Do not use hot water as this will start to cook the scallops and changing their texture. After 10-30 minutes, you should replace the water with fresh cold water. Do this until the scallops are completely thawed out.
Then, you can cook them in the microwave. Another way that you can defrost scallops is in the microwave. Place the scallops in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a paper towel and microwave them on the defrost setting in 30-second increments until they are fully thawed out. Once thawed out, remove the scallops from the bowl and place them in an 8 x 8 microwaveable baking dish and continue with the normal scallop microwaving instructions.
Microwaving Scallops is Easy!
Can you microwave scallops? Now you know that you can! It is no wonder why everyone owns a microwave in their home. You can cook virtually anything in a microwave! We shouldn’t even be asking ourselves anymore if you can microwave scallops or any other foods. We should be asking how to microwave them; automatically assuming that we can.
Microwaves are very powerful! And although they have the tendency of cooking unevenly, overcooking, and undercooking; if you know what you’re doing with a microwave, the sky is the limit. You can play around and create your own microwave scallop recipes if you want. Gather up some veggies and sauces and give it a try!
You can have the next popular microwaved scallops recipe. Regardless of how you serve them, now you know that it is possible to cook scallops in the microwave within minutes. You can confidently add scallops to your weekly menu, nuke them in the microwave real quick, and enjoy them!
