California

Abalone 4-5oz

$13.95

California farmed red abalone. Sushi-Grade.  Delicious sliced thin raw or grilled over charcoal - a squeeze of lemon and you have a perfect dish.

Preparing Your Live Abalone

1. Abalone should be removed from their shell before they die, if possible.
2. To remove the meat from the shell
a. Place the shell in your hand with the head facing towards you.
b. Take an oyster knife or butter knife, place it between the foot and the shell.
c. Keep the knife close to the shell and scape the knife along the shell to severe the muscle that attaches the meat to the shell. scooping the foot out.
d. The entrails, (guts) will either remain in the shell or come out with the abalone meat. Discard viscera. Trim off head/mouth portion at an angle to avoid losing too much meat.
e. Rinse the abalone and store in the refrigerator.
3. The abalone meat will tighten and become very firm when removed from the shell. It will naturally relax after a few hours in the refrigerator. This is not a substitute for tenderization. It is easier to tenderize your abalone after a few hours in the refrigerator after the meat has had time to relax – become less firm.
4. Abalone served as sashimi can be cut up and served either right after it is removed from the shell or at a later time, although the meat will become less firm after being refrigerated for several hours.

Tenderizing Your Abalone Meat

1. This step may not be necessary if your abalone are to be enjoyed raw or in a slow-cooked soup or steamed.
2. Best to use a meat tenderizer with tines or mallet. If a mallet is used it is best to use a foam pad or towel to hold the meat in-place so is does not slide- away when it is struck with the mallet.
3. The outside (flat part) of the abalone foot should be placed against the flat surface first, so the inside part of the meat (which was attached to the shell) faces up and is struck first with the tenderizer.
4. Strike the meat 3 to 4 times and turn the meat over and strike it another 3 to 4 times. The meat should now be flattened and not curl upwards.
5. Excessive pounding will split or crush the meat. We recommend using a tenderizer with fine tines and striking each side of the meat 3 to 4 times.

FACTS ABOUT ABALONE

1. There are 7 species of abalone that occur in California
2. There are about 80 different types (species) of abalone that occur around world
3. All the abalone we sell are RED ABALONE. Red Abalone are the fastest growing and one of the best tasting abalone in the world.
4. The commercial fishery for abalone in California was closed in 1997 and the recreational fishery was closed in 2017.
5. Farm raised abalone is the only option for live abalone or fresh abalone steaks in California
6. The abalone we sell are 2.5 to 5 years old (3 to 4 inches in shell length)
7. The colors on the back of the shell are from the different types of seaweed they eat.
8. Farm raised abalone are fed only brown and red seaweed that they eat in nature.
9. Because farm raised abalone are grown on only fresh seaweed in seawater, the same as wild abalone, they taste the same.
10. No chemicals or antibiotics are used on farm raised abalone, which is one of the reasons they are rated as a BEST CHOICE SEAFOOD by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program.
11. There are boy abalone and girl abalone
12. Abalone can change sex – a boy can change to a girl and a girl can change into a boy
3. The abalone are nocturnal = they prefer to live in a dark environment
14. Abalone have 2 eye stocks, but they can only see changes in light and dark
15. The small tentacles on the side of the abalone are called = epipodia. The epipodia have both chemical and tactile receptors.
16. Abalone are shellfish related to oyster, clams and mussels
17. Unlike most shellfish they are not filter feeding animals. They only eat the seaweed we give to them.
18. They are omnivores (eat plant and animal material – they prefer plant material).
9. They eat seaweed with a feeding structure called a RADULA, which is like a belt with lots of small teeth on it. Their mouth is located between the two eye stocks
20. The large muscular meat part is called their FOOT
21. About 35 to 40% of the total weight of an abalone is usable meat that can be consumed.
22. Some people also boil, steam or sautee the abalone entrails (guts) and they are consumed as a delicacy.
23. Red Abalone occur naturally from Baja Mexico to southern Oregon.

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