How to Make Salmon Roe Caviar
I’ve always wondered about making salmon caviar. I love tobiko and other fish eggs on my sushi, and every time I’ve thrown a skein of roe into the river as I cleaned my salmon, I wondered it I was, in fact, throwing away an edible part of the fish.
This year, I met a woman originally from Russia on the banks of the Copper River. She talked to us about making salmon roe caviar and my interest was piqued. Upon further research at home, I discovered that the UAF Cooperative Extension Service actually published a guide to making salmon caviar. I followed their recipe both times I made it, but there are much fancier recipes out there I’d like to try.
Below is the process of making the caviar.
Place a 3/8″ piece of wire mesh over a bowl.
Rub the skein of eggs over the wire mesh. This will separate the individual eggs from the skein tissue.
You’ll be left with a bowl full of eggs and the empty skein. Discard the skein tissue.
Eggs separated the skein.
Add 1/2 cup of salt to 2 cups of water.
Add eggs to the brine for about ten minutes.
Take the eggs out of the brine and rinse with cold water.
Refrigerate. The eggs will keep for about two weeks. They taste fantastic with cream cheese, crackers, and chives. They’re also great on scrambled eggs!
In terms of taste, the eggs are almost entirely tasteless. I would argue they simply taste “salty, fresh, and rich.” More than anything, they add texture, color and richness to whatever you are serving, and they seem to be very versatile.