Cured Salmon Roe
Chef Bonnie Morales of Kachka | Portland, OR
Yield: 1 pint
Adapted by StarChefs | October 2018
INGREDIENTS
1 skein of king salmon eggs (or any other roe skein)
¼ cup kosher salt dissolved in 1 quart water
METHOD
Fill a large pot with hot water (as hot as it comes out of the tap). Place the skein in the pot. Let the skein sit for 5 minutes; the membrane will begin to contract and the eggs will be more easily released. You’ll feel like you’re cooking these delicate eggs, but they can handle the hot water (don’t be afraid!). The eggs may pick up a slight cloudiness, but they’ll clear up as soon as they hit the salt.
While the skein soaks, prepare your station: Combine the salt and 1 quart water; set aside. Take a casserole dish or bowl, and set a grate over it to help free your eggs. Anything with openings slightly larger than the eggs will work, like a cooling rack with a wire grid or even a clean tennis racket.
Lay the soaked skein (membrane up) over your grate. Gently press on the membrane and massage the sac in small circles, carefully pushing the roe sac into the grate, until the eggs begin to separate from the membrane and fall into the container below. Some eggs may rupture in the process, but for the most part you should be able to gently work them through. Continue until all the eggs have been worked out (you may need to pluck the last few eggs from the membrane by hand). Discard the membrane and transfer the eggs to a container that’s taller than it is wide.
Fill the container with enough cold water to cover the eggs by a few inches. With your hand, scoop up the eggs from the bottom a few times, then let them settle (bits of membrane and broken eggs will float to the top). Pour off the water with detritus, repeating the process several times (up to 6), until the water is clear. When the water is clear, drain eggs, rinse out the container, return the eggs to it.
Pour the salted water into your eggs. Use your hand to gently mix the salt water with the eggs. Watch your eggs go from cloudy to clear (magic!). Set aside for 20 minutes.
Fish out a few eggs and have a taste, making sure you’re tasting the eggs, not the brine on their surface. You want a pleasant level of saltiness that doesn’t entirely mask their taste. If it’s not to your desired taste, let the mixture soak a little more, tasting every few minutes. If you prefer a saltier roe, you can always add more salt to the brine.
Drain eggs, leaving them in the strainer and discarding the brine. Place the strainer with eggs over a container to collect the remaining brine that will drip off; refrigerate overnight, uncovered, to allow the surface of the eggs to dry to a slight tackiness.
Transfer roe to a sterile container, cover, and refrigerate. They’re ready to eat at this point, but the flavor improves. They’re at their peak at around 3 to 5 days, and start to go downhill after 7 days. (Please, don’t eat them after 10 days!) Good-quality cured roe can also be frozen for up to 4 months. Serve with challah bread or yeast blini and softened butter.
