When you have a live abalone, immediately shuck it, foot side down, by placing a thin fillet knife against the inside of the flat portion of the shell, and move the knife inward, cutting the muscle attachment close to the shell. The muscle tissue will be very reactive. You want it to relax.

Remove the meat from the shell. Trim the head, gills, and viscera. Again, lay the abalone foot side down. Place the knife forward of the point where the meat was attached to the shell, and cut at a 45 degree angle down and forward.

Tenderize gently with a meat mallot or the broad side of a heavy knife. Quick sauté in a hot skillet coated with either oil or butter, after you have dipped it with egg wash, or coated it with flour. If it is tough, it was not handled properly. Do not refrigerate live abalone. Just cool it in natural air. If you are working with frozen abalone, defrost, then tenderize by hammering while still in the plastic covering.

California Red Abalone is indigenous to the cold Pacific ocean waters. These are a little more challenging to work with than the abalone spawned out of the warmer waters throughout the world, and as such always need to be coated first, in either an egg wash, or a sprinkle of flour. There must always be either butter or olive oil in the pan. The direct contact with the hot pan will make the red abalone tough