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| What You Need: |
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12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ quarter-pound sticks), cut into ½-inch bits
½ cup flour
1 cup soft crumbs made from day old homemade-type white bread, pulverized in a blender
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 four-ounce abalone steaks, thoroughly defrosted if frozen
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 lemon, quartered
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Clarify the butter in the following manner: Place the butter bits in a small heavy skillet and, stirring constantly, melt them over low heat. Do not let the butter brown.
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2. Remove the skillet from the heat, then skim off the surface foam and discard it. Let the butter rest for a minute or so. Tipping the pan slightly, spoon the clear butter into a bowl and set it aside. Discard the milky solids at the bottom of the skillet.
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3. Spread the flour on one piece of wax paper and the bread crumbs on another. Break the eggs into a shallow bowl and, with a wire whisk or a table fork, beat them only long enough to combine them.
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4. Using the smooth side of a kitchen mallet or the flat side of a heavy cleaver, pound the abalone steaks to a uniform thickness of about 1/3 inch. Pat the steaks completely dry with paper towels and season them on both sides with salt and pepper.
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5. Dip one steak at a time into the flour to coat it evenly, immerse it in the lightly beaten eggs, and turn it over and back in the bread crumbs.
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6. As they are coated, arrange the abalone steaks in one layer on wax paper. (At this stage, the steaks may be draped with wax paper and refrigerated for up to 1 hour if you like.)
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7. Just before serving, heat 4 tablespoons of the clarified butter in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet over high heat. When the butter is very hot, add two of the steaks.
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8. Turning them with tongs, fry the steaks for 2 or 3 minutes on each side, or until the crust is golden brown. Transfer the fried abalone to a heated platter, add the remaining clarified butter to the skillet, and fry the other two steaks in the same fashion.
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9. Garnish the platter with the lemon quarters and serve the abalone steaks at once.
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