How can I prevent gritty scallops?

Question

I made some scallops last night sous vide and before I put them in the bag I rinsed each one carefully and didn’t see anything on them. After cooking and searing I tried them and there was a little grit which for me ruins any scallop or clam dish.

What can I do to make sure I don’t waste my time with gritty scallops?

scallops seafood

What can I do to make sure I don't waste my time with gritty scallops?

Jeffrey · Answer

The most direct solution is: Better sourcing.
There is huge quality variation in most seafood. For scallops in my case (Canada), I found two good options:

The top brand (large expensive ones) from the big chain, frozen
Fresh, local, scallops from the fish market I trust

The option that is never acceptable:

small, mixed size, affordable frozen ones.

Typically, I go straight from the thawed bag, to colander, to the searing pan and never got any grit. At worse, I needed to trim the hard part of the scallops.

How can I prevent gritty scallops?

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