BajaNomad - San Roque bound for Abalone Season

San Roque bound for Abalone Season

shari - 6-9-2009 at 10:19 AM

WOOOOO HOOOO...we're off to my favorite place in the galaxy...San Roque. Juan started fishing abalone on Monday up San Pablo way so we will be living at the cabin in SR for a couple weeks....so anyone heading our way...come out and visit us there (ab dinners on saturdays!)...turn up at the police station...bring beer!!

[Edited on 6-9-2009 by shari]

Bajaboy - 6-9-2009 at 10:23 AM

Sounds like a nice mini-vacation. ...with no Internet.

See you in about three weeks....

Von - 6-9-2009 at 10:35 AM

San Roque Abalone is in season already? how big do thy have to be?

How far out to sea are they? or are they just sticking from the rocks?

Or do you freedive for them? Got any pics of them? man sounds like fun!

shari - 6-9-2009 at 11:05 AM

There are 14 abalone pangas in Juan's cooperativa and they have a hooka setup in the pangas, with a diver, his tender and oarsman(boat driver) and they pry them off the rocks. This is why the "vigilancia" patrols are so important to protect this resouce....they are easy to get to at low tide.

They get about 120 abs a day and I believe they have to be 6" and some are shipped out live as well as they are canned here.

The whole village is happy as this means there will be some cash flowing again so people can pay their bills. Although the prices are still very low, I understand the government will be providing some funding for the fishery and the product will be held and sold later when the prices go up.

here is link to some photos of the process, click on slideshow in the upper left corner to see them big...pretty cool!
http://picasaweb.google.ca/sharibondy/AbaloneFisheryInBahiaA...

[Edited on 6-9-2009 by shari]

[Edited on 6-9-2009 by shari]

Bajagypsy - 6-9-2009 at 11:07 AM

Um I wish I was there, San Roque is my favorite spot as well. I might try mailing myself to Baja!

Woooosh - 6-9-2009 at 11:08 AM

Abalone. Yum. Breaded and sauteed in butter- double yum. I though it was very hard to get thse days. 20 years ago the Boathouse restaurant on Habor Island in San Diego used to feature it. I think they would freeze it first to slice it thin before breading, fry it up and serve with more butter for dipping.

Where does one find Abalone for sale in baja norte? I did ask about it once at a dock in Ensenada- and the guy rolled his eyes. I left empty handed and thought it might be illegal in places (or at the time I asked anyways).

shari - 6-9-2009 at 11:12 AM

Abalone is so expensive now that most restaurants have taken it off the menu but you can get it in season in some restaurants in this area of central baja or you can buy it canned which is also delicious...the canning process makes it very soft....their head office is in ensenada so you should be able to buy the canned product there.
For a real culinary delight....get Juan to cook ya up some of his specialty...pounded, breaded and cooked in garlic butter...to die for really!

Woooosh - 6-9-2009 at 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
Abalone is so expensive now that most restaurants have taken it off the menu but you can get it in season in some restaurants in this area of central baja or you can buy it canned which is also delicious...the canning process makes it very soft....their head office is in ensenada so you should be able to buy the canned product there.
For a real culinary delight....get Juan to cook ya up some of his specialty...pounded, breaded and cooked in garlic butter...to die for really!

Thanks Shari. Pounded thin- not sliced... that's the ticket.

shari - 6-9-2009 at 11:41 AM

we slice then pound and can get about 5-6 good size cutlets from one ab. Each fisherman gets 4 abs a week to eat so that's enough to share with our amigos who show up.

KurtG - 6-9-2009 at 05:08 PM

Quote:

Kathy and I can attest to Juan's cooking skills as applied to abalone. It was excellent. Seems ironic to me that when my buddies and I were broke in the 70's that we had lots of abalone and dungeness crab as well as all the fresh fish we wanted for almost nothing. We lived in a commercial fishing port and had friends who were deckhands and boat owners. Now that we're older those things are a rare treat.

San Roque

BajaDanD - 6-9-2009 at 05:49 PM

Stayed there last Feb. My new favorite place to stay in Baja on the Pacific side. Love that little place. We will be back in Oct/Nov for a week. Need to catch tuna off my Kayak.

Might have tasted abalone when I was a kid. My grandfather had a house at newport beach and always had some fresh. But I dont remember what it tastes like My Grandfather always screwed up what ever he was cooking anyway.
DAND

Alan - 6-9-2009 at 06:07 PM

Abalone is my absolute, no holds barred, favorite seafood of all. Used to get them at Santa Cruz Island in the 70's. Blacks were abundant but we didn't waste our time with them. Pinks and Greens only because Reds were too deep.

I can't even find them canned anymore! I wish I could make it down as it would definitely be worth the trip but I just got back and fire season is starting to pick up.

(Shari - Can you FedEx from GN to CA?) :lol:

ncampion - 6-9-2009 at 06:17 PM

What happens to all the shells??? My wife makes jewelry and finding abalone shells is really difficult. I would think there should be plenty of them around or do they export them as well.....

Abalone at Catalina Island

Gypsy Jan - 6-9-2009 at 06:29 PM

Forty years ago, you could snorkel dive for them.

And yes, pound, pound, pound with a wooden mallet (making sure that the hovering wasps weren't pounded in also).

Breading and pan frying in butter, yum!

Those were the days, alas, no more.

GJ

fishingmako - 6-9-2009 at 06:44 PM

When I was a kid in the early sixties, I would go to a place called Bird Rock above Pacific Beach in San Diego, I had a inner tube with a gunney sack around it hanging down, and would take a deep breath and go down with my ab iron which was a leaf spring off of a car, It had surgical tubing attached to it so I didn't drop it, I would be able to pop 2 sometimes 3 on each dive there were so many, they were on top of each other.

OH Well those days are long gone, and they are soooooooooooooooo expensive even if you can find any. It is so funny going to the fish market and people are asking for ABALONE and the guy says oh yes I have some, and he sells the KAUNCH, did ispell that right? anyway you get the drift.

I took the meat out of an ABALONE one time and there was a absolute image of JESUS imprinted in the shell, awesome sight, It got in the newspaper.

shari - 6-11-2009 at 02:25 PM

Life is a dream in San Roque...the ab fishermen are getting 120 a day even though there is a pretty big swell and high wind so visibility isnt the greatest but everyone is happy to be working.
The shells are sold also so not easy to get here either although you can find them on the beaches in some places.
I'm gonna make abalone sausage this weekend with what they trim off the abalone....real yummy....well, back to paradise...hasta luego.

Woooosh - 6-11-2009 at 02:32 PM

wow- great thread for us foodies. I knew I wasn't the only San Diego transplant who remembers abalone on menus at places like The Boathouse and Rusty Pelican. It was never more than a chalkboard special, and was never cheap back then either - but oh, so good. Seems everyone does the breading and sauteeing in garlic butter method. I was thinking about abalone but settled for some crispy calamari frito yesterday. You do the best with what ya got!

[Edited on 6-11-2009 by Woooosh]

mulegemichael - 6-11-2009 at 02:40 PM

a couple decades or so ago, i would put my practice wife in our dinghy up in the san juan islands on a minus tide with a little garden scratcher and a big screwdriver...she would get out on the nose of the dinghy and i'd row her in to the rocks on a minus tide...pull the kelp aside with the garden scratcher revealing abs..pop em off with the screwdriver...abs in washington state..no more, methinks..i miss em.

55steve - 6-11-2009 at 07:30 PM

A 'good' price for imported abs here in San Diego is $86/lb.

Bob H - 6-11-2009 at 07:44 PM

Wow, I've never tried abalone. I thought they were illegal and protected. At least, in San Diego you cannot take them.

Now I want to see what they taste like.

Bob H

Pops - 6-11-2009 at 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob H
Wow, I've never tried abalone. I thought they were illegal and protected. At least, in San Diego you cannot take them.

Now I want to see what they taste like.

They taste alot like garabaldi :lol:

BajaGringo - 6-11-2009 at 08:03 PM

I am working with some folks down here who were just granted a 25 year concession to start an abalone farm. Hopefully in a few years down the road we will be able to provide a healthy supply to the local market. I will post more on this as the project moves forward...

Timo1 - 6-11-2009 at 08:05 PM

DEEP sigh !!!

DianaT - 6-11-2009 at 08:05 PM

I tried Abalone once many, many years ago and did not care much for it---it was breaded, fried, etc. John grew up eating quite a bit of it as a friend of his family was a game warden on the central coast and had lots of confiscated abalone. :tumble:

But quite recently, we were invited to a friend's home in Bahia Asuncion and they said they wanted us to have a special meal. As an appetizer, they served canned abalone with soy sauce, cilantro, garlic and melted butter----it was FANTASTIC.

Before then, we thought canned, no way---changed our minds. :yes:

Diane

[Edited on 6-12-2009 by jdtrotter]

desertcpl - 6-12-2009 at 08:18 AM

diane

I just love abs,,but never tried the can abs,,, how did they prepare the abs,, did they pound it,, fry it??

ken

Bajagringo

Keri - 6-12-2009 at 08:28 AM

Is that the folks at La Lobera. We when down last month. They have a nice set up. Small abs. Going to take five years they said. k

BajaGringo - 6-12-2009 at 09:00 AM

No, this will be an operation closer to San Quintin.

Casey67 - 6-12-2009 at 09:21 AM

BajaGringo (or others), how long do abalone take to reach the 6" harvest-able size?

Edit: Another Q: Are abalone typically more prevalent on the Pacific side or the Cortez side?

[Edited on 12-6-2009 by Casey67]

wilderone - 6-12-2009 at 09:29 AM

How long is abalone season?

shari - 6-12-2009 at 11:47 AM

The cooperativa has a quota to fill and so the length of season depends on the size of the surf! If it is very rough, they cannot dive....if it is nice and calm they can fill the quota in under a month..they only work 5 days a week...so it depends....
When they can the abalone, they use a secret process...kind of pressure cook it and can it so it is nice and tender...the abalone are canned whole so you can then slice it or dice it depending on how you are going to serve it. It is lovely in a c-cktail but the best sliced, pounded a bit and cooked in garlic butter for a couple minutes...it's best to freeze it first....comes out even more tender.

msteve1014 - 6-12-2009 at 12:02 PM

The canned abalone is also great for making Chinese dishes. I think that is where most of the cans go to. If you like the canned abalone as an appetizer, try the caracol en escabeche. It is fantastic right out of the can. I assume that what I get in La Bocana is the same as what you would get in B.A.

shari - 6-12-2009 at 01:06 PM

Actually, the quality of caracol differs in each coop a bit but take it from me...the canned caracol which is waaaay cheaper than the abalone, tasted equally as good if not better! You can get it in lots of stores around here. I think a can of abalone is around 600 pesos and has 1-2 abs in it...and caracol is like 250 pesos.

shari - 6-12-2009 at 08:41 PM

The first week of abalone went off without a hitch although it was a bit rough and the swell is building so we'll see what it's like for Monday morning. Here are some photos taken from our front porch of the dogs waiting for Juan to come home to throw the stick, ball and bucket lid for them.....today he brought 2 sheepshead and a cabrilla which we shared with nomad lurker camper bobby.

this is Juan coming into the bay to unload the abalone...had to wait for the big set to pass before coming in.

bobby enjoying the solitude

oladulce - 6-12-2009 at 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fishingmako

I took the meat out of an ABALONE one time and there was a absolute image of JESUS imprinted in the shell, awesome sight, It got in the newspaper.

Did you save the Jesus shell?

BajaBruno - 6-12-2009 at 10:27 PM

Shari, sounds like you, Juan, the dogs, and Bobby are all having a good time. Is there an internet connection in San Roque that you are using?

BajaGringo - 6-12-2009 at 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Casey67
BajaGringo (or others), how long do abalone take to reach the 6" harvest-able size?

Edit: Another Q: Are abalone typically more prevalent on the Pacific side or the Cortez side?

[Edited on 12-6-2009 by Casey67]

To reach 6" it takes about 6-7 years I believe.

shari - 6-13-2009 at 07:19 AM

San Roque has Tel Cel service and ya probably could get some kind of internet there but we are back at the blowhole for a couple days...they dont work on sat/sunday so we are in town...I'll be in the painting mode today...fixing up the campground clubhouse, beach house stairs need paint etc...a little work break in my holiday. :no:

Ken Bondy - 6-13-2009 at 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Casey67
Edit: Another Q: Are abalone typically more prevalent on the Pacific side or the Cortez side?

Casey67

Abalone feed on kelp, so they are definitely more prevalent on the Pacific side. To my knowledge there are no abs in the SOC.

++Ken++