The shellfish that fed Carmel's artists' colony, now farmed in Monterey Bay and served as tender pan-seared steaks in the village's seafood rooms.

Abalone is the founding dish of bohemian Carmel. In the early 1900s the artists' colony pried the shellfish off the rocks below the village, pounded it on driftwood and grilled it at beach bonfires, chanting verses of the Abalone Song as it cooked. Overharvesting closed the wild fishery, so today's abalone is farm-raised in Monterey Bay, and kitchens like Flying Fish Grill in Carmel Plaza treat it as the luxury it became.

Where to eat Monterey Bay abalone in Carmel-by-the-Sea

1 editor pick for Monterey Bay abalone in Carmel-by-the-Sea, ranked by editorial score. All Carmel-by-the-Sea signature dishes · Monterey Bay abalone across every city.

  • Flying Fish Grill

    Order A clay pot dinner, the house's signature format.

    Flying Fish Grill cooks East-West seafood on Carmel Plaza's lower level, running from salmon and lobster to abalone and clay pot dinners nightly.

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Make it at home

Serves Serves 235 minIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 farmed abalone, shucked and trimmed
  • 60g plain flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 60g fine breadcrumbs
  • 60g butter
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • Sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Slice each abalone horizontally into steaks about 1cm thick.
  2. Place the steaks between two sheets of baking paper and pound gently with a mallet until they relax and thin to about 5mm; stop before they tear.
  3. Season, then dredge each steak in flour, dip in egg and press into breadcrumbs.
  4. Melt the butter in a heavy pan over medium-high heat until it foams.
  5. Fry the steaks 45 to 60 seconds per side until golden; longer turns them rubbery.
  6. Rest 1 minute, squeeze lemon over and serve immediately with the pan butter.

Editor tip. The whole dish is won or lost on timing: past a minute a side, abalone seizes up, so plate straight from the pan.

Common allergens: Shellfish.