Brownlip Abalone

When Caught

Wild stocks harvested year round, with seasonal peaks for some species in certain areas. Farmed blacklip abalone is harvested year round, while farmed greenlip abalone is harvested mainly during summer, especially when the price is good.

Important Features

Wild/Farmed: Wild and Farmed
Habitat: Saltwater
Recovery Rate: Flesh cleaned (total): 30 to 40% of total weightFlesh (cleaned and with mantle and skirt removed): 33% of total weight

Brownlip Abalone Research

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Remarks

Abalones are highly sought after by Japanese chefs for sushi and other Japanese dishes.

Abalones are mostly delivered live to processors, where they are canned, individually quick frozen, or frozen in 10 kg blocks. Some are partially boiled for specific markets, and others are exported live. A small proportion is dried and exported to China.

Abalone shell is used in a variety of products, including buttons.

Imports

Nil

Alternatives

squid & cuttlefish

Grading

Grading can vary by supplier and region. Abalone can also be graded according to the colouration of the flesh. An example of a grading system for wild-caught live abalone is:

Brownlip Abalone Haliotis conicopora

Photograph by CSIRO

Nutrition Facts

per 100g of raw product

Kilojoules	na
Cholesterol	na
Sodium	na
Total fat (oil)	0.8 g
Saturated fat	31% of total fat
Monounsaturated fat	22% of total fat
Polyunsaturated fat	47% of total fat
Omega-3, EPA	48 mg
Omega-3, DHA	2 mg
Omega-6, AA	100 mg

Data presented are for blacklip abalone.

Cooking Ideas

Bake	Boil	Deep Fry
Grill/barbecue	Poach	Raw
Roe	Roe & Milk	Salted
Shallow Fry	Smoke	Steam/microwave

Note: Cooking Ideas identified by dark bold text are relevant to this species

The firm flesh of abalones is highly prized in Asian circles, and is central to some of the best Oriental seafood recipes.

Abalone meat can be stir-fried, pan-fried, poached, steamed or stewed. However, it is considered by some to be best when eaten raw, in thin strips with wasabi and soy sauce.

Another option is braised abalone. With its absorbent texture that draws other flavours beautifully, braised abalone is traditionally prepared in the Cantonese cooking style using garlic, ginger and oyster sauce. If deep frying, the fritter is superb topped with a herb mayonnaise or minced into patties and coated with crumbs of garlic and onion. Citrus-marinated abalone combines well with shallots and parsley when pan-fried in oil or butter. Abalone also makes a wonderful addition to salads.

The best way to avoid loss of flavour and to tenderise the meat is to use the slow stewing style of cooking. Alternatively, fry it quickly on a high heat, or serve raw.

Canned abalone can be purchased from Chinese and other stores that sell imported Asian goods. It has a firm texture and does not need to be cooked. Drain the flesh, cut it up and add to a soup, casserole or stir-fry.

Flavour: Mild to Strong
Oiliness: Low
Moisture: Medium
Texture: Firm
Flesh Colour: Both raw and cooked forms have cream-coloured meat with a black, brown or apple-green frill.
Price: Abalones are very high-priced molluscs.
Edibility: The muscular foot is commonly eaten.The skirt (frill) can be eaten, as can the mantle and viscera. Farmed abalone, being small, is often eaten whole.

Suggested Wines

Cantonese-style braised abalone and similar dishes demand full-flavoured wines with some oak sweetness to stand up to the braised flavour intensity. Look for some semillons from the famous Barossa or Hunter Valleys.

With abalone fritters coated with a garlic and onion crumb, drink a well textured chardonnay.

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