Bay Scallop Shucking

It’s Bay Scallop Season – so get your knife ready and lets get shuckin! Renowned for their sweet, salty flavor – they are also know for their ease of opening. You won’t need an oyster knife – or Rob Gronkowski’s forearms to open these little guys. Just grab a dish towel, a sharp, semi-flexible knife and a few dozen scallops.

Start off by icing the scallops for 10-15 minutes. This will cool the scallops off and open them up a little bit so that it is easier to get a knife into the shell.

    1. Take the scallop in your left hand (if you are a righty) with the hinge pointed away from you and the dark side of the shell facing up.

      2. Use a kitchen knife (a sharp butter knife will work) in your right hand to scrape the underside of the top shell to separate the scallop muscle from the top side. Continue to disconnect the top shell from the hinge so you can really clean the inside.
        

          3. Once you have separated the muscle and top shell, you need to clean and pull out the dark membrane. Use your knife to scrape the membrane from the hinge side of the shell towards you. It should slide right off the muscle. If you need to use your hands and don’t mind getting a little dirty, feel free to dig in and pull it right off! The membrane is also connected to the bottom shell. This should also be removed.
           
            4. Once you are done, you should see a clean piece of scallop meat attached to the bottom shell. There might be some sand still in the shell from the membrane. Feel free to run the shell under some water. Use the knife and cut under the muscle to remove the scallop from the bottom shell.
                4. Enjoy!