Ah the grill, many people have sent e-mails asking why I prefer the two chamber Char-broil charcoal grill?

We will explore that a little further as I describe to you the slow smoked scallops with an interesting palm sugar mayonaise. Follow along as I create the Super Bowl dinner! First I was down at the market picking up some real nice wild caught walleye fillets, when the scallops looked at me and begged me to buy them so they did not have to sit in the retail case any longer! What is a chef to do? So along with the walleye I picked up a pound of the 10 count scallops.

I have been doing a lot of scallops lately. They are so sweet and cook so nicely I just kind of got on this kick of seeing what they would accept as a base dish. Seems like they accept about everything. So today I decided to break out a little palm sugar and go to work on the sweet scallops with a sweeter still glaze!

To make this a balance I had to get some solids behind the palm sugar. So a little thinking and the whole prep seems to appear in my mind. I throw together the mise en place for the saute reduction to start things off.

Basically I am using, Maui sweet onion, macadamia nuts, pineapple, chopped crystalized dates, coconut, bamboo, and a decent size chunk of palm sugar. Not shown cause it is already in the pan is a little dark sesame oil.

First I saute the macadamia nuts ’til they are starting to toast.

Then I pile in the rest of the mise en place to get things reducing and flavors a blending!

This is basically an extraction process that will create two of the finals I need to complete the dish. First it will create the palm sugar sauce I need to marinate the scallops, that same sauce will also create the mayonaise that I will baste the scallops with and plate the scallop with for final plating. It will also create the reduction I want to turn into the solids for the scallop bed to be formed on the plates.

So first the reduction is drained into a pyrex mise cup for use in the marinade and the mayonaise.

The solids are returned to the heat where I add a microwaved sweet potato that has been peeled and sliced. I really wanted a tight starch to pull the sweet scallop bed together. The sweet tater was just laying there left over from a dinner a few nights ago. That sucker gave its life for this dish!

Chef Rant ON:

Ok folks lets not get on the microwave high horse here! I have recieved the e-mails inferring it is not a real oven, it can not be used in a real setting. To which I say “if you are that limited in ability, don’t use it!” I prefer to master something that is different, not run away from it. While I respect those that don’t want to master it, I won’t accept the bashing of the appliance from people who can not master it. Besides they do better taters than any other method I have tried!

Chef Rant OFF:

So once the saute has warmed up the baked sweet tater slices it is into the food processor. Now I have one of the large 11 plus cuisinarts that will make mounds of food. But for Christmas I got this little mini Kitchen Aid process that only has chop blades, no slicing, dicing and shredding for this little pup. But I have come to use it a few times a week, fast to clean, keeps prep more toward the size for the wife and I! A big plus when you consider I can not use an appliance without filling it to the brim!

So into the processor with the saute!

While that was finishing in the oven, I set myself a pot with some nice brown rice. I figured a brown rice vegetable pilaf would be just the starch and veggie to finish the plate.
Then I clean the small processor and get to work on my mayo, two egg yolks, one whole egg, little lemon juice, salt, pepper, and all vegetable oil for this one since I am infusing it with the palm sugar reduction.

This is how she came out after mixing in the reduction sugars strained from the saute pan. Now it is important to let mayo sit for a few minutes, so I busy myself getting the Char-broil charcoal grill set for cooking use. We are going to smoke these scallops so I want a fire in the firebox and just heat and smoke in the large chamber. But scallops and the salmon my son wants, require a little more work that just smoking. I like the scallop seared and the son likes the grill marks on the salmon. So first I open the draft and get the firebox hot, I mean over 550F. Toss in one of my black iron fry pans and let it heat to screaming hot (to borrow a term from Derek Thomas) so I can do the searing and the grill marks all at once. And that is why I love the double chamber charcoal grill, I have high heat if I need it, I have a burner for an iron pan if I need it, and I have a large cooking chamber!

At this point the scallops have been marinated in half the liquid from the saute pan, the other half was used in the mayo creation. Once they are seared I am using one of those grill vegetable trays you can purchase at Home Depot. This keeps the scallops (and most seafood) from falling through the grates to the fire gods! And who can blame the fire gods for partaking of the grilled foods from time to time? With the smells the food gives off I am surprised they don’t take all of the food all of the time! I place the scallops and salmon on the veggie grill and place it into the large cook chamber!

Then I place a pan rigged with mesquite wood on the firebox side. Regular readers understand my use of the tin pan covered for maximum even smoke time. If you are not a regular you can review the info here about two thirds down the page.

In a few minutes the mesquite begins to add the magic! This is what we look like as the large chamber climbs through 325 F where I will hold it for 15 minutes or so.

And at that point I start to paint the scallops with the mayo. I will put three coatings on the scallops, then I will sauce the area of the plate where the palm sugar reduction will be placed in preperation for the bedding of the scallops. All that will be finished by surrounding the scallop bed with our brown rice vegetable pilaf! And this is what it ends up looking like at the finish!

Four scallops plus the underlying palm sugar reduction made a very nice sweet dish, and the brown rice vegetable pilaf gave the dish the light sides it required! This was the first time I ever thought of doing this, I think I would change one thing, I would have also toasted some coconut to finish the scallop with as a garnish instead of just the mayo finish.

’til we talk again do two things, first pick up some palm sugar and mess with it, this stuff has it all over maple sugar and make an infused mayonaise for yourself. It is easy to do and you will be amazed how fast you start customizing a mayo to complement a meal you are trying!

Chef Bob Ballantyne
The Cowboy and The Rose Catering
Grand Junction, Colorado, USA