Costco Connection - June 2008

Sea Scallops with Fresh Corn
and Tomato Sauce

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot 1 teaspoon chopped garlic Kernels from 2 large ears of corn

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper

¹/2 cup milk

¹/2 pound plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

30 Kirkland Signature sea scallops, thawed

1. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a sauté
pan over medium heat. Add shallot and
garlic; cook until translucent.
2. Add corn, 1 teaspoon basil, and salt
and pepper to taste. Cook until corn is
lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in
milk and remove from heat.
3. Purée the corn mixture in a food
processor. Force the purée through a
fine sieve into a small saucepan; discard
the solids in the sieve. Keep sauce warm
over low heat.

4. Place tomatoes, parsley and 1 table-
spoon basil in a bowl and toss. Season
to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Pat scallops dry and season to taste
with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons
olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over
medium heat. Add scallops and sauté,
turning once, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until
golden brown.
6. To serve, place about 2 tablespoons
of corn sauce in the center of each
plate. Top with 5 scallops. Spoon toma-
toes over the scallops. Makes 6 servings.

Recipe from Cooking in Style The Costco Way.

IRIDIO PHOTOGRAPHY

Costco’s scallops are not bought at auction. They are hauled up from the ocean floor onto small seven-member-crew boats, then quickly shucked, rinsed and bagged by hand and stored on ice until arrival at the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Kirkland Signature processing plants are at the dock, so there’s no worrisome travel time or additional handling. A USDC inspector is present full-time during the entire process, from unloading to final packing. The inspector must first determine if the scallops from the boat will meet the Grade A quality standards for freshness, odor, size, moisture, texture and color. Those that pass are cleaned

again to remove sand, further checked by the official for quality, sprayed with an ice-water mist to prevent dehydration, individually quick-frozen and packaged. No sitting or soaking time is allowed.

Bill notes, “We don’t drive to a price but to a program … a Grade A program.” Lucky for us, Costco frozen raw scallops are also reasonably priced. At the time of this writing,

Road Show U-10s are $10.49 per pound, a 5-pound bag is $9.99 per pound and 30-pound cases can be purchased for $9.48 per pound or less.

Costco scallops are par-

tially thawed for the U- 10 Road Shows, so eat these beauties within a day or so as they are best if not refrozen. U- 8-12 freezer scallops, in a 2-pound resealable bag for $19.99 ($9.99 per pound), are good for about three months if kept frozen properly.

Cast your net this summer around Costco’s U.S. Grade A Kirkland Signature raw sea scallops. Your friends and family will applaud your savory catch. C

Robin Forgey and Pat Volchok examine and weigh scallops.

Getting soaked

IT’S HARD to believe reputable retailers continue to sell scallops treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP). To prove this point, Costco seafood buyers Bill Mardon and Ken Kimble purchased frozen samples around the country and shipped them to Costco’s quality assurance lab in Seattle.

Costco’s corporate quality assurance lab manager, Robin Forgey, analyzed the moisture content of each while I watched. She reminded me, “The natural moisture level of

the vast majority of all North Atlantic sea scallops is 80.5 percent or less. The higher the percentage of moisture, the greater the likelihood that something in the processing methods, such as STP, allowed the scallops to absorb more water. STP is supposed to be listed if used.”