Home-Cured Salmon Roe

My favorite part of salmon season is curing fresh roe. In the late summer/early fall I can usually find whole skeins from wild King salmon at the farmers’ market or at a great local fish shop.

I picked up almost 2 pounds today at about $14/lb.

First step is to rinse and remove the membrane, which I find easiest by pushing the eggs through a wire rack into the bowl below. It goes into an icey brine for about 10 minutes.
IMG_1591.JPG
IMG_1593.JPG
IMG_1595.JPG
There’s another method using water of about 100F, but I tried it before and it was harder for me to clean all the membrane off.

Will post next steps and finished product as I work on this.

Done brining. Have to rinse the eggs off until the water runs clear and remove the popped egg membranes.
IMG_1597.JPG
IMG_1599.JPG
After rinsing, the roe go into a marinade of homemade dashi broth simmered with sake, mirin, and soy sauce. This goes in the fridge overnight and the last step is to strain it and put it in a jar tomorrow.
IMG_1600.JPG

Betty thanks for sharing. How hard/time consuming is it to pick out the popped egg membranes?

I’m pretty slow at prepping/cooking in general so it takes me roughly 30 min. This recipe, which I follow roughly, says 10 min: Homemade Ikura | Japanese Salmon Caviar

The maturity of the eggs make a difference. Younger, smaller skeins from early in the season pop much more easily.

Here are the eggs after brining overnight. The initial salt brining made them opaque, but the overnight brining made them translucent again.
IMG_1619.JPG
IMG_1621.JPG
All that’s left is to strain in the fridge for a little while, then put it in jars.

Money shot
IMG_1622.JPG

Looks awesome. How long does it keep?

Up to a week.

Gorgeous money shot

looks great- how will you use them?

This is so awesome. Salmon roe is one of my absolute favorite foods and my kids love it too (2 year old thinks they are salty peas). I have to try this. Thanks for posting.

Thanks!

I’ve just been eating it with a spoon, but in the past I’ve topped overeasy eggs and deviled eggs with it.

Salty peas? Too cute!

My daughter loves them too. We call them “little tiny baby salmon” though I’m not sure she fully comprehends the meaning.

Where do you live Betty? Can I bring champagne?

champagne.gif I’m in the Bay Area.

That’s amazing Betty. Thanks for sharing this.

Good God but this is awesome!

My daughter also loves them. They are “orange sushi”.

Bring the champagne to my house, I’ll invite Betty.

:slight_smile: