Frozen abalone recipe?

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Maybe one day I'll get a chance at a moose. With abalone I mostly go for the fun of the diving - the prepping and eating just isn't that compelling on balance.
 
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@spoolin01 It truly is all about the diving.

Many times in the past I sat on the back deck with a wire brush, bucket of salt water, and a bag of really nice mussels that the captain "forgot" to drag on the way in. It's all part of it...

:)
 
Where did these abalone come from and how big" are these abalone meats you speak of?
The reason I ask is because we have a real poaching problem up here on the North Coast of CA. Where the big reds are amongst the last on earth.
Many times these illegal poaching operations are on a commercial harvest level. The authorities don't have enough boots on the ground to Patrol the shorelines, and the illegal trade on a nationwide level to the asian market is rampant.
I sure hope the abalone spoken about aren't from an illegal source.
That's why I ask "how big", because there is a commercial farming operation in Monterey, CA under pier 2. There is an enterprising guy who has special F&G permits to grow abs in cages and he sells them to restuarants and specialty seafood markets, I believe nationally. They have to be harvested by law no larger than 4" on the longest length of the shell so there is little doubt in the eyes of F&G that the abs were harvested illegally. They figure that abs small probably wouldn't be worth the effort to poachers, so they have determined that size to be the max size for commercial farmers.
The meats from a 4" abalone are about 3" in diameter.
Just curious.
We are very sensitive about our resource and fiercly protect it.
Thank you.
 
Eric,
Thanks for adding that information.
Where did these abalone come from and how big ...//... The meats from a 4" abalone are about 3" in diameter. ...
See pic. They appear to have been forcefully pressed before freezing to make them look bigger. They are very "dished in" on top and bottom.
We are very sensitive about our resource and fiercly protect it.
Thank you.
You are most welcome and Thank you!

I am now aware of this. If you have doubts, I'll save a sliver of each. I'm certain that a university/governmental agency knows the exact genotype of your inhabitants.

I am also very sensitive to poaching as we have an acute problem with it here too: Maine fishing crew hauls in a whale of a lobster - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Lobsters just keep growing until something takes them out. Surprisingly and unfortunately for them, they don't get tougher or less tasty with age, just bigger and more desirable.

So you can imagine the pressure on them.

Abalone Size.jpg
 
Eric,
Thanks for adding that information. See pic. They appear to have been forcefully pressed before freezing to make them look bigger. They are very "dished in" on top and bottom.
You are most welcome and Thank you!

I am now aware of this. If you have doubts, I'll save a sliver of each. I'm certain that a university/governmental agency knows the exact genotype of your inhabitants.

I am also very sensitive to poaching as we have an acute problem with it here too: Maine fishing crew hauls in a whale of a lobster - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Lobsters just keep growing until something takes them out. Surprisingly and unfortunately for them, they don't get tougher or less tasty with age, just bigger and more desirable.

So you can imagine the pressure on them.

View attachment 384696
Thanks for attaching the pic.
I don't know by looking at the photo.
I think it's too big to be a CA ligit farmed ab but it could be. It also could be a Mexican farmed black ab from Baja. They have a place that farms blacks but AFAIK they all get canned and go to China and Japan, but I may be wrong.
Or like has already been mentioned they could be from somewhere else besides US.
I think there should be a law to state the country of origin on the label on all seafood sold in this country.
 
OK, back to it.

First order of business. This thread didn't really belong under "Underwater Hunting". So I asked for a new forum as I *great surprise* couldn't find a "Recipe" forum anywhere I looked in the Community. It was moved here by my request for a recipe thread. OMG, one did exist! Thanks.

<<MODS>> when I want something good to eat, I DON'T look under "Dive into Fitness". How about "Diving Related Recipes" or something like that as a top forum??? No big deal, just suggesting that maybe you order your stuff differently.

Off my soapbox.

So anyhow, anyone who knows me knows that I really try to do my homework. I love to share information. That kept me employed at the same great job for 38 years and also kept me from upper management. Oh well. No regrets. :)

Seaweed. Uh, sorry. Sea Vegetables.

The pap is that all seaweed is good to eat. The truth is that it appears that none of it will harm you in an acute fashion, but you can "OD" on both iodine (too much of a good thing) and arsenic (from Hijiki).

So here is my short list:

Agar
Alaria
Arame
Bladderwrack
Cordia filia
Dulse
Kelp
Kombu
Nori
Ogonori
Pelvetia (channel wrack)
Purple laver
Sea Lettuce
Wakame


I'm no stranger to this stuff, have bags of it to add to my favorite ramen packets when I want something light and easy. Some of it is really good and some of it is disgusting.

Love plain old kelp. Cut squares of it with scissors and toss it in with the spice packet.

Contrary to what appears above, I'm not trying for a research paper here, but who knows of any really good seaweed recipes to pair with abalone as a salad? Need one more appetizer. I'm thinking of alternating apple-wood grilled octopus slices, Korean pear, and abalone all shaved thinly over something.

Or if someone just wants to start a new seaweed thread, please do...
 
I'm only going on our local reds - I'd love to hear how these turn out.

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.

/QUOTE]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Re Inside of the shell--Protection

WEAR EYE PROTECTION ! A DIVE MASK WORKS GREAT!!

1) Lay shell with the insides facing up
2) Heat paraffin (aka paro wax) to melting point in pan
( I have a dedicated pan for this process- reuse often )
3) Coat insides of shell with the melted paraffin
4) Individually place inside of shell - the coated side facing up in large stew pot
5) Bring temperature up to a simmer DO NOT BOIL !!! the shell wall develop hair line cracks with boiling
6) The paraffin melts floats to top
6) Allow the water with the melted paraffin to cool - generally over night
7) Skim off solidified paraffin floating on top of the water- save and reuse
8) Retrieve abalone shells from the bottom of the pan
9) Remove the paraffin (if any ) from shell with warm water and soap

RE Coating inside and out side of the shell

If is a record 11-12 inch red abalone specimen
Liberally spray with women's hair spray -- it is water soluble and can be washed off for cleaning and re sprayed
( I have a pump bottle of 99 cent store spray that has lasted for years)
This will insure its conchlological value to a future collector

If for home display many often coat with a clear "plastic" coating --
Its long term effect on the shell and the luster has yet to be determined
This destroys its conchological value to a collector
I NEVER COAT ANY SHELL ! ( And I have many shells from all over the world).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HAVE YOU EVER ATTEMTED TO USE A GRINFER ON THE OUT SIDE ?
BE VERY CAREFUL -- HAVE MUCHO VENTALATION
SHELL DUST IS VERY CAUSTIC TO THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

The above and several other techniques for marine life preservation appeared in several long out of print books, two that come immediately to mind are "Diving safe and simple" by Resic in the 1960s, "Diving west " by Fullerton (first edition) in the early 1970s and the article in the magazine "Discover Diving" 25 years ago.

Since I have been lecturing and writing about cleaning a polishing Abalone shells and how to preserve marine life for well over 50 years I guess am the unheralded father of Shell cleaning --put that with a dollar and a cup of coffee still will cost a dollar.

Hope this is of assistance ...If you have questions please post --

SDM

It is daylight - my little dog Max is at my feet and we are off to the beach
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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