Making Salmon Caviar for Lunch-pics

[whalebreath]

Yes it's from the same fish this is something of a rough 'n ready 'Salmon Caviar' just salted roe really not true Ikura but delicious & rich for all that; Chinook Salmon roe isn't as luscious as the Chum I generally use but this particular batch was top quality.

Decided not to label each individual photo you can see how it was done and eaten.

The Poppy seed bread wasn't my first or even second choice but was fresh out of the oven/still warm when purchased and worked surprisingly well.

[philaroman]

I do the same w/ trout roe... comes out translucent like ikura, but yellow

for bread, I really like the "crumbly" 100% rye or any dense, brown bricks w/ high rye content -- any hard-core German or East Euro deli should have it

[Bryan Young]

Yum

[David Hall]

did you do a quick salt cure or what?  looks good and inquiring minds need to know.

[Steve-O]

What David said... the details, please..I will have my hands full of fresh Coho, Humpy and Chum roe ALL next week in SE AK.  the humpy roe is just for curing as bait for Coho...not eating.

I eat tobiko on my sushi all the time... the little flying fish eggs go "pip, pip, pip", as they snap and pop.

The main river I'll be fishing sports a run of all three along with Sockeye but they are "hands off" due to recovery effort and ALL King Salmon freshwater fisheries on the island are also "Hands Off"

But I've heard, too, the Chum eggs are the best, no?

First collars, then heads, next roe...what's left to eat?   ???Not eating the guts....nope.  I think I did eat a beating heart on dare though IIRC.

[whalebreath]

I just added sea salt from a shaker since it was intended for immediate consumption-look closely @ the eggs in the last pic you can see the colour difference since some have taken up more salt than others if they were left in a brine they would be more uniform.

This is the book I use as my bible

[Dominick]

First collars, then heads, next roe...what's left to eat?   ???Not eating the guts....nope.  I think I did eat a beating heart on dare though IIRC.

Hey Steve what do you mean you think?  You either ate the heart or you didn't.  Which is it?  Dominick

[jigmaster501]

Did you freeze them to kill the parasites?

That looks good though.

[Steve-O]

First collars, then heads, next roe...what's left to eat?   ???Not eating the guts....nope.  I think I did eat a beating heart on dare though IIRC.

Hey Steve what do you mean you think?  You either ate the heart or you didn't.  Which is it?  Dominick

Uuuhhh.......uummm....weeeell.....um...wow....I mean.....maybe....or maybe I just bit it in half and swallowed that part.....or somethin like that.

Might have been too much adrenaline goin on at the time to recall the details clearly....i plead the 5th.

[swill88]

Did you freeze them to kill the parasites?

That looks good though.

Can you elaborate please?

Would love to hear your opinion on cured eggs.

I plan to keep the roe next time ( Dominick & Mati 😂 )

Steve

[Dominick]

Did you freeze them to kill the parasites?

That looks good though.

Can you elaborate please?

Would love to hear your opinion on cured eggs.

I plan to keep the roe next time ( Dominick & Mati 😂 )

Steve

I also would like further comment since mine are salted and in the frig.  Dominick

[David Hall]

Thanks for the link on that book Whalebreath, I ordered a copy.
Last time I got a batch of roe, I pulled a recipe off the internet, it was as basic as basic could get.  Seems like it was 1/4 cup salt in a Qt. of cold water, soak for 10 minutes, rinse, soak again and done. 

[jigmaster501]

Wild salmonid species naturally contain parasites.

These parasites require either full cooking (not being done) or a defined freezing step to destroy viable parasites.

For the home freezer, the eggs need to be brought down to -4F and held there continuously for a minimum of 7 days.

You can use a lower temp with a shorter time but that is not practical at home.

In addition, you will need to do a surface pathogen elimination step to destroy pathogens on the surface of the eggs since they will not be cooked and freezing will not destroy the pathogens.

Soak the eggs in a solution of 1/4 cap plain bleach per gallon of fresh water and let soak for 10 minutes or so.

Rinse in fresh water and then brine under refrigeration.

Also the eggs will naturally carry spores of Clostridium botulinum which will need to be controlled with refrigeration below 38F and a brining process designed to achieve a water phase salt (WPS) level of 5% or higher. This is where you need a scheduled process.

If you are going to brine and eat in a day or 2 with proper refrigeration, you can get away with it but for refrigerated storage longer than that, get a scheduled process.

If you do get a scheduled process and want to have extended storage, heat your salt in the oven until it reaches 190F or so and cool to kill off halophilic microorganisms that can alter the color and flavor of your product.

Hope this helps.

[whalebreath]

Wild salmonid species naturally contain parasites.

These parasites require either full cooking (not being done) or a defined freezing step to destroy viable parasites.

For the home freezer, the eggs need to be brought down to -4F and held there continuously for a minimum of 7 days.

We've been through this Bee Ess in the past I've eaten Salmon My Way for over 40 years with No Issues None

[

[jigmaster501]

Many people have done things for many years until one day it catches up.

Like smoking for many years until one day your get cancer.

Parasitic infections are asymptomatic in many cases and many don't find out that they have a parasitic infection with parasites eating through the wall of their stomach until they go to the doctor for something else and it is discovered.

Same goes for Listeria, salmonella, e coli, etc. Your immune system will not stay as it was when you were 20 years old. Small amounts that you fought off years ago can land you in a hospital today. For most foodborne illnesses, the incubation time in the body can take days or even weeks before the illness becomes apparent to the person.

Who remembers what they ate last week or a few weeks ago?? Many people can't remember what they ate yesterday. No one can say that have never gotten sick from something over any time span unless they have charted all of their meals for years and have had an epidemiologist review all of their meals upon any illness that was acquired over the years. None of us will be doing that.

Even if there is a 5% loss in quality (maybe), if you get a 100% guarantee of parasite destruction with proper freezing, it is worth the effort. I would say so.....

I can say with complete confidence that no one on this board knows the exact strength of their immune system at any given time to fight a particular pathogen or parasite at a defined concentration.

I can't force you to do anything. I can only provide factual information and positive guidance for those wishing to make these products safely in their homes to feed themselves and their families/friends.

I have no desire to fight or argue with anyone here. I get enough of that at work.

We all like to fish but we all come from different backgrounds with different professions that many of us master.

We all eat food no matter what and food safety is my profession. That is what I can share here other than fishing and reels. I have heard all the stories and all the excuses at work and unfortunately have been part of illness investigations and death investigations, recalls, etc.

I don't want to see that happening here....

Why take a risk for no reason??