Classic
ABALONE
Recipe
October/November 2017 67
sine. “In Asia, abalone is considered a delicacy,”
he explains. “I prefer to eat it raw,
but in the U.S., people prefer it cooked.
The way I like to prepare it is to tenderize
it by gently flattening before marinating it
with a kelp broth for a day. Then I put it
into a light tempura batter and deep-fry
it. I like to pair it with edamame, seaweed
butter and grilled king oyster mushrooms.”
Chef Scott Cooper of classy Le Papillon
in San Jose has cooked all kinds of
abalone—wild and farmed—and he prefers
the smaller, locally grown gastropods.
“For the kind of treatment we’re giving it,
it’s definitely superior; delicious and wonderfully
tender,” he says. That approach
currently involves sautéing in brown butter
and lemon, then pairing with slices of
caramelized avocado. “It’s a luxury item
and somewhat subtle, so we wouldn’t put
a spicy curry on it or something,” notes
the classically trained French chef.
Fellow chef David Kinch of Michelin
three-star Manresa in Los Gatos is so fond
of abalone that the cover of his cookbook
pictures a stylized abalone shell. The mollusk
has appeared in some of his signature
dishes such as Winter Tidal Pool,
and Kinch has said that farmed abalone
is more tender than the wild variety—an
opinion shared by many other experts.
AT THE S OURCE
All these local chefs get their abalone from
the Monterey Abalone Company in Monterey
or American Abalone Farms in Davenport
near Santa Cruz. Both have been
around for more than 20 years, which
is impressive given the many California
abalone aquaculture operations that have
failed over the decades. Currently, there
are just three domestic farms besides the
two in our region: on the Central Coast in
Cayucos, near Santa Barbara and on the
island of Hawaii.
Closest to the South Bay is American
Abalone, located on a scenic cove and
increasingly popular with those who want
to buy from the source. Owned by marine
biologist Tom Ebert, this aquaculture operation
pumps circulating seawater from
the adjacent Pacific into hundreds of tanks
where abalone grow from pencil-point
size to the three or four inches across that
makes for optimal eating.
“People come here and see live abalone
crawling around in the tanks or get
an abalone steak that was just processed
yesterday,” notes Ebert. He sells both as
well as other fresh-from-the-water local
seafood like live oysters, clams, Dungeness
crab, sea urchins, filleted wild salmon and
other items. Ebert is now also building an
official store and dining spot overlooking
the ocean that will open in the fall.
For seafood lovers, a weekend trip to
the coast to buy fresh abalone can be quite
an enjoyable outing, with Ebert’s farm
usually doing a brisk business as people
pick up fresh abs and slurp down justshucked
oysters, clams and other treats.
Particularly attractive to abalone buyers is
the fact that the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s
Seafood Watch program names California
farmed abalone a “best choice” because it’s
a healthy, sustainable pick. “Some of our
restaurant customers wouldn’t be handling
our seafood if it wasn’t rated a best
choice,” Ebert says.
Luckily for abalone aquaculture operations
like American Abalone and Monterey
Abalone, the feed for their marine
livestock is nearby and free, since the
yummy mollusks eat a diet of algae. Both
Monterey Abalone Company’s Trevor
Fay has consumed a lot of abs in his
life but he sticks with a simple approach
to preparation that shows off
the subtle, rich taste of the meat.
Monterey-Style Abalone
This recipe serves four people as a
main course.
If using prepared abalone steaks,
the quantity is four per person. If
using live abalone, one pound per
person or three to five pounds total
is the right quantity, which should
yield about four steaks per person.
After shucking the abalone (instructions
can be found many places online),
keep the meat in a bowl along
with the juices that accumulate. Chill
for at least an hour. Place steaks in a
plastic bag and tenderize by delivering
a few whacks with a wooden mallet
over every part of the steak on
both sides. Put the steaks back into
the bowl with the saved juices.
Seasoned flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
lemon pepper
garlic powder
(optional) unseasoned bread
crumbs
• Put flour in a bowl and sprinkle
just enough lemon pepper and garlic
powder to create a film on top of the
flour. Add bread crumbs if desired
and mix well. Other options are to
add dry herbs and/or compatible
spices. Prepared steaks can be first
dipped in a beaten egg, then dredged
in the seasoned flour. If using live
abalone, make sure the steaks are
covered in the accumulated juices
before dredging.
• Put a generous amount of olive
oil in a skillet and heat on high. Flash
fry the coated abalone steaks for 30
to 45 seconds per side. Add more oil
to the pan as needed if cooking several
batches.
• Serve hot with lemon wedges if
desired.
“It’s one of those INGREDIENTS that
a lot of people have an EMOTIONAL
CONNECTION to but that they don’t
have very often so that makes it
really, really COOL for us to serve
it,” says Chez TJ’s Jarad Gallagher.