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1
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F and place a cookie sheet fitted with a wire rack inside into the oven to warm.
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2
Heat the oil to 425 degrees F in your favorite deep frying vessel (a wok, cast iron skillet or Dutch oven) on the stove top over medium heat.
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3
Drain the skallops and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
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4
Cut any very large skallops in half so pieces are uniformly 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter.
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5
Set aside.
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6
Whisk together dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a large mixing bowl.
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7
Add water and vodka and whisk to combine until a smooth but relatively thin batter forms that falls off the whisk in ribbons.
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8
Coat skallops one at a time in the batter, allowing excess to drip off, then gently lower them into the hot oil.
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9
Be careful not to crowd the pan.
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10
Cook up to 13 of them per batch depending on the size of your pan.
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11
Flip and agitate them constantly as they fry until they reach an appealing golden brown on all sides, roughly 4-5 minutes.
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12
Remove them from the hot oil with a slotted spoon.
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13
Drain mocknuggets on a paper towel then transfer to the baking sheet and keep warm in the oven as you finish remaining batches.
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14
Any leftover batter following the final batch can be discarded.
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15
If you want more, there should be enough batter left to fry another can of skallops.
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16
Serve with the dipping sauce(s) of your choice.
