Frozen abalone recipe?

[lowviz]

This is complicated, but I'll be concise.

Adopted daughter (Korean), now 30 and recently married. I couldn't be happier with who she picked. She cooks wicked Italian, I strive to retain her heritage. We have much fun with that.

Thanksgiving. She married into a huge (wonderful) family. Two Thanksgiving dinners. One traditional the other not so much as they are just days apart. A person can only eat so much turkey.

So, anyway, the Korean endless variety of cooked/pickled treats around the main course remains a big hit. Heavy on seafood.

Why I posted: Abalone.

My fav Asian store recently got frozen pairs of abalone (rather large) for $10 US each. I'm a bit clueless.

They aren't fresh, obviously. Worth it? How to prepare? Anybody have a good recipe or just pass on it?

Thanks

 

[RyanT]

Hey lowvis: I've never eaten abalone, but I would take a shot and try cooking them like scallops. Here's what I do:

Thaw the abalone (thoroughly) before cooking.

Put some canola oil in a pan (Olive oil is obviously better, but I worry about burning it at higher temps) and heat the pan up to medium high. At the same time, heat your oven to 300 F. Throw the abalone on the pan and sear, flipping them over until both sides begin to take on a nice brown.

Once they've browned, take them out of the pan and put a big dollop of butter and a little crushed garlic on top of each one. Pop them in the oven and let the butter/garlic melt down over them. Leave them in the oven for about 15 min, periodically spooning the melted butter/garlic back over the top.

Also, at the same time you put the abalone into the oven, put several spears of asparagus in along with it in a separate pan. Bake the asparagus for the length of time as the abalone. After the 15 min, pull everything out of the oven, drizzle a little of the melted butter from the abalone pan over the asparagus and enjoy!

Note: if they're way bigger than the typical scallop, maybe extend the oven cooking time a few minutes.

OK, not really a low fat/calorie meal, but delicious!

 

[spoolin01]

The red abalone we get on the US West Coast is very tough when cooked, so most of the time it gets pounded pretty mercilessly prior to cooking. Chicken frying is probably the main way it's cooked. I've had it stir fried, but don't care for what little intrinsic taste the abalone meat has. Wrapping pounded strips around cheese-stuffed small green peppers, breading, then deep frying - abalone poppers - makes a pretty good treat.

I've had small canned commercial abalone steaks that were pretty tender after cooking in soups, but I've never known anyone to figure out how to truly tenderize the meat of a cooked large wild abalone without pounding first.

I've tried it uncooked when fresh - Korean suggestion - and it's much more tender that way. I'm not sure how safe it is to eat raw, but I've done it a few times without problem. I don't much trust any seafood that moves through commercial channels, so I would probably cook what you've got.

 

[lowviz]

...//... Wrapping pounded strips around cheese-stuffed small green peppers, breading, then deep frying - abalone poppers - makes a pretty good treat. ...//...

Ah Ha!!!

I love it! That is totally outside the box. Never even considered it. That might be a winner.

I'm no stranger to tenderizing. I've eaten whelks that I've caught locally. Best procedure (for me) is to freeze them, thaw and remove from shell, clean & peel *sigh*, partially re-freeze, set slicer to very thin, pound the bejeezus out of the slices, soak in meat tenderizer, mirin, and a dash of fish sauce. Viet Huong (three crabs brand) I'm very picky about that, if anyone knows of better, please share. (Fish sauce is the Asian equivalent of the US American salt shaker.)

The problem with whelk is that I find the taste ever so slightly off-putting. Hoping that abalone is better.

I'll reciprocate for your sharing. Try this:

SeaVegi seaweed salad mix. Forget the recipe on the bag.

Re-hydrate in a mixture of ice cubes, water, and sea salt. Go easy on the salt.
Pick out the good stuff as it "blooms". Definition of the "good stuff": Waste a bag in warm water. Taste each variety after about ten minutes. One of them goes all slimy and unappetizing really fast. Lose that one...

Restarting the recipe, re-hydrate to your level of taste. All of it will go unappetizing if left too long. It is a time thing. Place into chilled bowls, top with a shredded imitation crab stick (Kabuto) and a good pinch of Capelin roe. (Sushikko) Top with fresh radish sprouts. That is a necessity. I get radish seeds from Rainy Day Foods. They've gone a bit survivalist, but I suppose that they are just following the market... Add a simple mixture of pure sesame oil and white vinegar to taste. Maybe some sea salt. Serve just enough of it so that your guests want a bit more. Move on to the next dish...

Sincere thanks.

 

[RyanT]

Thanks spoolin, sounds like I might have had lowvis eating some delicious butter drizzled tires. Sounds like I should stick to the stuff I know!

 

[Sam Miller III]

!) I suspect the Abalone is not from California
California is very protective of the remaining Abalone
Taken by sport divers by free diving only
It can be gifted but not sold
It cannot be legally shipped out side of California

2) Depending on size, shape and shell and meat color I suspect the abalone is possibly from SE Asia or New Zealand

3) Cleaning (if in shell) place Ab meat side down
Run a sharp instrument from the sloping side staying close to the shell concurrently separating the meat from shell.

Set shell aside for cleaning polishing and future display
(in the 1960s-70s I presented lectures in SoCal on "Keepen Kreepers" about cleaning, preserving and displaying creatures fro the sea--(The Horror of it all ! ) About 25-30 years ago I had a column in the national dive magazine "Discover diving." One article was "Polishing Abalone shells." Let me know if you plan on polishing the shells

Cleaning the abalone meat -- NEED A VERY SHARP KNIFE
Lay the abalone out flat
Trim all the meat around the base of the meat
Trim very slim slices from the sides of the meat
Trim slices from the foot
(reserve the trimmings for seasoning, stews etc

With the abalone meat lying flat
cut slices about 1/4 to 3/8 thick

Cover each individual piece of meat with Saran wrap
Place on a flat surface
Pound with a NON serrated mallet etc
Use side glancing blows--Not directly on the meat

Uncover the meat
Dredge in flour (original way) or Japanese Panko

Cooking--large cast iron skillet best
High flash point oil...best is peanut oil
Heat oil to almost smoking
Place individual slices in frying pan
cook VERY rapidly -20 -30 second a side
(Like all sea food over cooking makes it tough and destroys flavor)

Drain on paper towel
Serve immediately

That is the western way of preparing and serving abalone discovered by a German immigrant who prepared abalone like his native Schnitzel and the way my family has prepared abalone for several generations.

The trimmings can be simmered to produce a hearty "fish" sauce
Abalone can be and has been eaten raw many times as snack or a sandwich

I would suggest that you might want to check out your local library for a book by A.L. "Scrap" Lundy "The Abalone." It is one of the most complete well documented books I have ever read (Scrap is also a dear friend, I have inscribed copy #7 of his book)

I assume the would not have a copy but can order via a PAL loan

The California fish and Game also USE to stock books on abalone...

I spent more time than I like this AM on this response -- but if some one gave me a Moose I would also appreciate a certain amount of direction in cooking.

Hope this helps

SDM

 

[Lorenzoid]

I suspect this isn't what one should do with frozen abalone, but I recall in the fish market in Seoul choosing them from a live tank and having the cook prepare them "butta gooey" (butter-grill?). So I guess that's along the lines of what RyanT suggested above.

The abalone "steaks" that appeared on menus when I lived in California were always out of my budget.

 

[lowviz]

Dr. Miller,

Thank you so much for sharing your insights, experience, and history.

...//... One article was "Polishing Abalone shells." Let me know if you plan on polishing the shells ...

Can't, two frozen hockey pucks in a shrink wrapped plastic tray. However, I'm most interested in your procedure as I've put fresh abalone on my "Really have to do this someday" list. Please share. (if I can ask a favor)

...//... I would suggest that you might want to check out your local library for a book by A.L. "Scrap" Lundy "The Abalone." It is one of the most complete well documented books I have ever read ...

I will.

...//... I spent more time than I like this AM on this response -- but if some one gave me a Moose I would also appreciate a certain amount of direction in cooking.

Your time is most appreciated! Thank you for the prep and cooking directions. You just don't get that level of history and associated information from recipes on the internet. I most especially appreciate the book suggestion. Thank you.

If someone gave you a moose, try to trade it for abalone.

...//... Hope this helps ...

Most assuredly.

I suspect this isn't what one should do with frozen abalone, but I recall in the fish market in Seoul choosing them from a live tank and having the cook prepare them "butta gooey" (butter-grill?). So I guess that's along the lines of what RyanT suggested above. ...

Yeah, I don't think that he was too far off.

This will be fun, I have time to experiment. I know I can get the real deal in NYC, but planning to check out Philadelphia first. Half hour up the road...

Sincere thanks, all!

 

[lowviz]

I suspect the Abalone is not from California ...//...

I'm certain that you are correct.

It showed up in a bunch of really nice offerings from Japan. Along with what is in the pic, I got a lovely yellowtail (not yellowfin) steak.

 

[spoolin01]

Thanks spoolin, sounds like I might have had lowvis eating some delicious butter drizzled tires. Sounds like I should stick to the stuff I know!

I'm only going on our local reds - I'd love to hear how these turn out.

!)
Set shell aside for cleaning polishing and future display
(in the 1960s-70s I presented lectures in SoCal on "Keepen Kreepers" about cleaning, preserving and displaying creatures fro the sea--(The Horror of it all ! ) About 25-30 years ago I had a column in the national dive magazine "Discover diving." One article was "Polishing Abalone shells." Let me know if you plan on polishing the shells

I would suggest that you might want to check out your local library for a book by A.L. "Scrap" Lundy "The Abalone." It is one of the most complete well documented books I have ever read (Scrap is also a dear friend, I have inscribed copy #7 of his book)

SDM

I'm interested in your cleaning and polishing secrets, as well. I've had good luck cleaning the outside of the shell with muriatic acid and some picking and scrubbing, but have not figured out a practical way to protect the nacre during that process. I've tried wax, oil, and petroleum jelly, but while the wax gave good protection, it was difficult to clean off, and really time consuming. The oil and jelly were notably imperfect protecting against the acid. Polishing the shell insides afterwards helped a bit, but then cleaning the polishing compound out of the pores proved near impossible. You can probably tell I cast about with various approaches, but never really felt I'd hit on a good one. I'd love to hear your suggestions.

If someone gave you a moose, try to trade it for abalone.

Got the abalone, let me know when the moose arrives!!