Ever read Catcher in the Rye? If so, you know about that metaphoric “gold ring.” Well, for a long while, ours was a perfectly prepared scallop. It’s so delicate and plump and sweet—so flawless. We use that word—flawless—because cooking a scallop demands precision. The difference between succulence and rubber is, maybe, fifteen seconds.

We tried grilling scallops. Failure. We tried pan-searing scallops. Failure. We abandoned hope. It seemed that we simply lacked the stuff. We’d have to leave making of these oceanic wonders to professionals.

But then, we got a Sous Vide Supreme. See, when you cook conventionally, you apply a high heat attempting to raise the internal temperature of meat to a target number. For a medium rare steak, it’s 134 degrees. For a chicken breast, it’s 146 degrees. If you don’t remove the meat at the right time, it passes the ideal temperature and overcooks. Read more here.

Cooking sous vide eliminates the guess work. You vacuum seal food in a plastic bag, which you immerse in a temperature-controlled water bath. You set the bath for the exact temperature that you want the food to reach. The food cooks precisely and evenly. And, the bag locks in the food’s natural juices—and any butter that you’ve added.

We recently made the grand meal pictured atop this article: Seared Scallops with Brown Butter Caper Sauce over Whole Wheat Linguine.

Here’s how.

For the scallops, cook them sous vide at 122°F for 30 minutes.  Remove them from the bag and pat dry. Sear the scallops in an already blazing hot cast-iron skillet for 20 seconds per side.

For the sauce, follow this recipe from Simply Recipes.

For the linguine, well, you already know how to make pasta.

Layer linguine, then sauce, then scallops. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese. Serve hot. BTW, capers are so good.