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Cast Iron Brown Butter Seared Scallops with Lemon

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Pat large sea scallops very dry, salt them, and sear them in a smoking-hot cast-iron skillet over a camp stove or hot coals for about 2 minutes per side. Add butter after the flip, baste until nutty and foamy, then squeeze lemon over the top. Total time is about 20 minutes, and scallops are done at 145°F inside.

Cast Iron Brown Butter Seared Scallops with Lemon
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Scallops look like restaurant food, but they cook faster than a hot dog. All you need is a hot skillet, dry scallops and a little butter. Three ingredients is plenty.

This is a good snack to make at the end of a trail day while the real dinner finishes. Serve them straight from the pan on toothpicks with a squeeze of lemon. They go fast, so cook them in one batch and eat them hot.

Recipe card

Cast Iron Brown Butter Seared Scallops with Lemon

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Prep
10 min
Cook
8 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Moderate
Heat
High flame or hot, even coals
Pack weight
1.5 lb
TrailFit
  • Campfire
  • Camp stove
  • Backpacking
  • Cooler required
  • One burner
  • Low water
  • One-pan cleanup

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