A Meilleur Ouvrier de France shares his advice with us for paying much less for scallops!

Every year, the scallop establishes itself as one of the star products on the Christmas menu. Generally served as a starter, it can be offered as a carpaccio or lightly snacked with a little lemon and white wine sauce for example. But before cooking it, you still need to choose it carefully. This shell can sometimes be quite expensive. Fortunately, there are a few tips to know in order to pay less.

For this, we went to meet Gwenaël LavilleMeilleur Ouvrier de France fish scaler. This expert shared with us all his advice on the subject.

Just like oysters or other shellfish, scallops must be alive at the time of purchase. This is a first guarantee of quality. According to Gwenaël Laville, the shells must absolutely be closed. “On a scallop that is very fresh, it must be well closed. Even if it opens if you tap the top of the shell, it should close automatically. So, here, we are on a guarantee of freshness”. If this is not the case, you are dealing with a product that is not fresh.

Recognizing a good scallop is an art. You have to have an eye and keep in mind the details that make all the difference. Precisely, according to the expert, here is what should concern you when purchasing your shellfish. First of all, know that “the scallops, on the stall, must be whole, well rounded and shiny. They must not be juicy, that is to say they release juice into the dish on which they are In addition, they must not be whitish or slightly cooked by the ice cream.

Generally, for the holidays, to save time, fishmongers peel the scallops the same morning (where they buy them already shelled) in order to offer only the “turnkey” nut to their customers. You should not hesitate to ask the merchant to do it if you do not feel capable of carrying out this step.

However, to save money, it is best to opt for scallops in the shell since they will always be less expensive per kilo than the nuts alone. Indeed, “when the nuts are shelled, we will only recover between 20 to 25% of the weight and everything else goes in the trash” explains Gwenael Laville before continuing: “So to make, for example, 500 g of scallops, I will need 3 kilos of shell. Which is huge. Loss level, we are more than 50% of the original product”. Result ? The cost is much greater. The fishmonger will also add the price of processing the product. Thus, the cost of the nut can be around 60 to 80 euros, or even 100 euros per kilo in certain regions, “but on the other hand the advantage is that there is nothing left to put in the trash”.

Conversely, for scallops, you have to count between 7 and 16 euros per kilo “depending on size”. Indeed, “there are medium scallops, there are very large scallops and the price is not the same and it varies enormously” specifies the expert.

Indeed, the Meilleur Ouvrier de France would like to point out to us that depending on the regions of France and the period, the prices of shellfish can vary considerably.

So, in order to pay less, it is best to opt for whole scallops and open them yourself. But be careful, before you can taste them, there are a few steps to know. “First of all, you have to peel off the flat valve with a knife. So in the hollow part, there will remain nuts with the bards, the gills and the coral. You must then remove the first upper bard to gain access to the nut. Using a tablespoon, scrape to loosen the nut. Paying attention to the guts, there is a blackish gland that must also be removed” explains Gwenael Laville. After this step, you can cook it as you wish.

For a more pictorial explanation, know that chef Christophe shared a video on the 750 websiteg.

For another more economical alternative, the Meilleur Ouvrier de France told us that in Brittany in particular, you will find a white scallop, which is therefore not coral and which therefore costs much less. “It’s a good alternative for people who don’t have a huge budget.” It is therefore worth asking your fishmonger to see if they offer them in store. You will save between 20 to 30% compared to the classic Saint-Jacques.