Pan-Seared Scallops with Chorizo and Corn (2024)

3 ears of corn, husked

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 oz. smoked Spanish chorizo, finely chopped

12 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2–1 serrano chile (depending on heat), finely chopped

3/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

12 large sea scallops (about 1 lb.), side muscle removed, patted dry

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 lime, halved

Lime wedges (for serving)

Leave a Review

• Wonderful and easy. I used canned corn and plant based bacon and it was still delicious.

  • Sue

  • Reading, PA

  • 5/1/2023

• So good. My wife and I use the corn as a base and if we don't have scallops, we make with either Salmon or boneless skinless chicken thighs as the protein. Works great with everything! We also use pancetta instead of chorizo and prefer it more. But the corn base is the star!

  • Patrick

  • Los Angeles

  • 10/31/2022

• Made this, really delicious. Plenty of heat, so only 1/2 Serrano required. When I added the buttermilk it separated somewhat. Didn't impact the flavor, but curious how I could avoid this.. Should I bring buttermilk up to room temp?Anyway great with fresh summer corn.

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  • SJ

  • San Francisco, CA

  • 7/20/2022

• The pan-seared scallops were excellent! I made this for my spouse for his birthday. He loves scallops and spicy foods, and this was perfect. The only thing I'll do differently next time around is managing the amount of serrano pepper. I used the whole pepper, and I should've used maybe half of it.All in all, it was great. I paired the dish with a nice chardonnay from the Russian Valley (California), making the dinner complete. I'll make this again for guests!!

  • Mark W Brown

  • Seattle, WA

  • 1/9/2022

• Restaurant-worthy for sure. i even used coconut creme instead of buttermilk and it was still amazing- though admittedly not so southern as likely intended. I also like the scallop tech unique of searing for a little longer on one side, then basting in butter on the other. i feel like this method kept me from overcooking the scallops to rubber. gonna do that for other scallop dinners in future. friends LOVED it.

  • Danielle Shepherd

  • Austin, TX

  • 1/6/2022

• I thought it was very good. 1/2 a Chile perfect. I did prep the cilantro and completely forgot to add at end. Would make again, but would double the scallops and I also put in twice the Chorizo half the buttermilk ....

  • carole4663

  • Boston, MA

  • 8/6/2021

• Fantastic! As someone mentioned in an earlier review, I used fat free buttermilk, but cut it back to 2/3 cup, which was perfect. No Serrano or any type of pepper at all! Everything else was by the book and excellent!

  • cburger100

  • St Augustine Florida

  • 1/18/2021

• Went out & bought everything as it was for New Year’s Eve. Really easy to prepare and cook, don’t know why but never cooked scallops before although eaten many times in restaurants. It was all perfect and will definitely be making again. Definitely as good as any I’ve eaten in a restaurant.

  • barbstarkey

  • Ribble Valley, U.K.

  • 1/3/2021

• Amazingly, I had most of the ingredients in my slowly diminishing October beach home refrigerator. I had a few scallions and added a small shallot. I did not have buttermilk so took 1/4 cup of sour cream to 1/2 cup of fat free milk and 1/4 cup of light cream and it worked well. Used 1/2 a jalapeño and added 1/2 a diced red pepper because I had it and thought it would add color and a little bit of vitamin C. Would add again. I did not add butter in the end....I think it would make the dish greasy rather than fresh...and Calories! Cooked 5 Cape May NJ scallops pp. I cooked a package of quina/brown rice but really did not need it.Perfect for a lovely dinner for my husband and me. Would make for guests after Covid with a nice salad and it would be better than going to a restaurant! Perfect! Great presentation too.

  • mopoll

  • Avalon, n.j.

  • 10/5/2020

• Incredibly easy, a restaurant quality dinner! Loved the blending of buttermilk into the corn and gives it great flavor! I’ve cooked almost every night during thus pandemic and thus was one of my top five recipes!

  • jaheneghan8142

  • Chicago, IL

  • 9/17/2020

• Sinfully delicious and easy to make! If you like scallops (or shrimp) and some spice this is perfect.

  • Barnard, VT

  • 7/23/2020

• I made this with frozen corn, powdered buttermilk, jalapeno, and Mexican-style chorizo and it was great. It’s a delicious and very forgiving recipe. I can’t wait to try it with summer corn and fresh buttermilk.

  • Dusty411

  • Portland, OR

  • 5/4/2020

• Since I did this dish during quarantine, and did not have all ingredients as noted I forged on with Lima beans instead of corn. Wow!My husband loves limas. I also did not have buttermilk, so once again, left it out and just added a little of the cooking liquid back into the chorizo/veggie mix. Also substituted yellow onion for the scallions, and hot pepper flakes for the Serrano. This dish was awesome! So much flavor from the chorizo oil really kicked it into high gear!I can only imagine how delicious the corn and buttermilk version would be, but for my COVID 19 version, I give it a major thumbs up!!!

  • trthornes

  • Delaware

  • 5/1/2020

• Swapped the Scallops with Shrimp and this made a great rice bowl served with brown rice.

  • leatherface416

  • Ontario Canada

  • 1/28/2020

• I cook a lot - in fact, I'm one of the weirdos who would much rather create a meal than dine out. That being said, it takes a lot to WOW me - and this recipe is probably the best thing I've made in a long, long time. The depth of flavor is beyond amazing. I don't know who the genius is who thought of cooking the scallops in the chorizo oil, but I thank you! The only change I would make is I think a cup of buttermilk is too much, so I'd probably cut it back to 2/3 or so. The corn mixture was a little on the watery side. Other than that, this is a winner!

  • melty c

  • California

  • 1/6/2020

TagsScallopShellfishSeafoodChorizoSausageMeatCornVegetableScallionOnionRoot VegetableButtermilkDairyMainDinnerGluten FreeNut FreeKetoQuickWeeknight MealsSearSauteSummerBon Appétit