Freezing abalone

Anyone know the best way to freeze an abalone? I have been freezing them in a ziploc bag with water, seems to work pretty well. Just wondering how other people do it.

I've been using a food saver. Love it. Next best is freezing in water (what I used to do). I just pounded some out a few weeks ago and froze those. Haven't eaten them yet and looking forward to how pre-pounded ab taste after defrosting.

A buddy of mine (or I may have seen it posted somewhere at one time) claims freezing them alive helps prevent them from hardening too much. They supposedly die relaxed and require less pounding. Haven't done it myself, but that's one I've heard of.

Hey, just noticed your handle. Named after the Yancy's in the Sunset District? I lived in that area a few years and drank my share of beers there.

so would he freeze them with the shells, guts, and everything?

yep, that's the place, i work there..

Freezing abs - use caution.  That's my advice on that.   

Extra cool that you guys hooked up on the Yancy's vibe.   

I freeze abs and fish in water just like you do. I tried the vaccum pack on freezing fish and didnt like the way they tasted when thawed. Never tried that on abs

After 20 plus years of diving this is what I've found.

I slice and pound the ab just as if I was going to cook it immediately then I freeze it in whole milk. Use plenty of milk.  Nothing else I've done comes close to the quality I get from this method.

I also believe that strictly speaking this is against DFG regs. I have read a couple of things, one is that DFG recommendation is to freeze in shell to abide by the reg, also I read some discussion that the word immediate can refer to location as well as time as in "immediate area".

Man I need to get a life.....

After 20 plus years of diving this is what I've found.

I slice and pound the ab just as if I was going to cook it immediately then I freeze it in whole milk. Use plenty of milk.  Nothing else I've done comes close to the quality I get from this method.

I also believe that strictly speaking this is against DFG regs. I have read a couple of things, one is that DFG recommendation is to freeze in shell to abide by the reg, also I read some discussion that the word immediate can refer to location as well as time as in "immediate area".

Man I need to get a life.....

Sounds like early retirement sucks, way to much time on your hands????

Heres what I have found after diving for the last35+ years. Once you ahve eaten fresh abalone, nothing absolutely nothing compares with fresh. Clean slice pound all meat and eat till you are sick of abalone or eat half and give some to a friend. Maybe I am too fussy about taste but I have a lot of freinds.  You cant have more than one limit in the freezer unless you gift to your immediate family anyway. Buy frozen whatever but eat your abalone fresh.

yancy, yea.. that's cool that you work there. I did like that place. Watched the Giants blow the world series in that bar. Loved that team though.

Anyways, the freezing alive thing includes shell and all. Looks like one person mentioned this upthread and another may have hinted it's not such a good idea. Personally, I like the post saying to eat it all and eat it fresh. That's no doubt the way to go.

Putting the ab into water in a plastic bag works the best for me. just make sure the ab is completely covered and there is not too much air in the bag.

I put the whole ab in a hole-less plastic bag, shell and all. Then with a straw, I suck out all the air, inevitably getting a mouthful of abalone slime. Tie it tight and put it in the freezer. Works well. Abalone seems pretty forgiving in terms of freezing.

I freeze the whole abalone in the shell and then fill with water too avoid frezzer burn, just my 2 cents.

I've tried a few of the methods above and have finally settled on cleaning the ab and cutting it in half the long way.
Then I use the getto food saver method of placing one or two halves in a ziplock and zip it nearly all the way.
Lower the bag into a bowl of water all bur the open section of the zipper and squeez all of the air out of the bag and put it in the freezer.
Once I am ready to cook it I thaw it and fillet the half ab from top to foot normally about 1/8" to 1/4" depending on how tough it is.
Then beat the fillets until they loosen up then prepare per your favorite method and eat them up yum.

Still the best way is as mentioned earlier in the thread, pick em, clean em, cook em and eat em.

Frozen abs just dont compare to fresh. I found the closest way is to freeze them shell and all in a ziplock.