Air Fryer Reference
Scallops
protein · fresh
- Temperature
- 400 °F
- 204 °C
- Total time
- 6 min
- 12–14 large dry sea scallops (U-10 or U-15 size) in a single layer
- Flip at
- 3 min
- flip once
- Internal temp
- —
- use visual cue
Doneness
Tops and bottoms are golden-brown crusted; centres are opaque but just barely — a hint of translucent at the very middle is correct, not raw.
Oil & seasoning
Toss with 1 tsp neutral oil before adding — needed for the sear.
Season with: kosher salt, black pepper, lemon after cooking.
Watch out for
- Use ‘dry’ scallops, not ‘wet’ scallops treated with phosphate solution. Wet scallops leak liquid and steam instead of sear.
- Pat the scallops completely dry with paper towels before seasoning. Surface moisture is the single biggest reason scallops fail to brown.
- Do not crowd. Each scallop needs space for the convection air to wick off the moisture.