How to Prepare Fresh Abalone

How do you get a fresh abalone out of its beautiful shell? Here's all you need to know to attack the challenging task. Keep in mind the sweet rewards.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Fresh Abalone
• All-metal Tenderizing Mallet
• Heavy Knife
• Kitchen Utility Knives

1. Put the fresh abalone meat-side down in a bucket covered with water (preferably sea water and kelp), in the shade (presuming you're outside). The abalone will live up to three days in this condition.
2. Set up a work area for opening and trimming the abalone. It's a messy business. You may want to cover your work surface with newsprint or plastic.
3. Pop open the shell with a heavy knife. Start at the shallow side and work your way around the shell. Be careful to start at the shallow end; otherwise the guts will spill out (gross) and you may touch the meat with the knife and destroy it.
4. Switch to a very sharp knife (if your heavy knife wasn't your sharpest) and use a graceful circular motion to remove the guts. They're connected by a small layer of tissue that will come off easily with the circular motion.
5. Trim off the black "lips" and the tough part of the "foot."
6. Dispose of all the guts and lips immediately. Use double trash bags if possible.
7. Use an all-metal mallet to pound the meat until it is tender throughout. Hold the mallet with one hand and feel the meat with the other. When the meat feels soft all around, you're done.
8. Cut the abalone into 1/4-inch slices.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you've cleaned the abalone, you can put it in a bowl, cover with a dry napkin, and keep it fresh in the refrigerator for up to three days. Never wrap abalone in plastic storage bags; their gases will destroy the meat.
• You may want to save the lips if you can use them IMMEDIATELY. You can use them to make a tasty chowder.
• You can dive for abalone only with a license (in California it's $16.30 for a fishing license and an extra $12.60 for abalone) and take only four abalone per diver.
• Conch is a great substitute for abalone. Prepare it for cooking in the same manner you prepare abalone.