How to Make a Salmon Roe Caviar Recipe: Learn about the steps needed to move fish eggs from roe to caviar. The process is easy and simple, but you need to have a little “know-how” and I am here to tell you everything you need to know.
Before going into how to prepare the Salmon Roe Caviar, let’s clarify something.
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What are salmon eggs or fish roe?
Both refer to the same thing, it is the round yellow fish egg as a jewel or the content of the sac (skein) inside the belly of some females. If the fish were not caught, the fish eggs would later become small fish. The sack containing the roe is called a skein.
What is caviar?
Caviar refers to the cured fish eggs of a sturgeon. All other cured roe must have a specification of which fish it comes from before the word caviar. In this way, caviar made from salmon roe or salmon eggs will be called salmon caviar, not just caviar. True sturgeon caviar is black in color, much smaller than salmon caviar and can cost hundreds of dollars per ounce.
Why is sturgeon caviar so expensive?
The high cost of sturgeon caviar comes not so much from the exceptional taste, which is not to say it doesn’t taste good, but rather due to the shortage of mature sturgeon fish.
Female sturgeons must be at least 10 years old before they are ready to migrate upstream to lay their eggs. Most of them have been caught at that age, which is why mature sturgeons are rare and their roe are extremely expensive.
How much Salmon Caviar comes from 1 lb of Salmon Roe?
For every pound of salmon roe, you will get about 1/2 pound of salted or cured caviar.
Is salmon caviar or roe good for you?
Salmon roe is among one of the foods richest in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for early brain and eye development, as well as supporting cardiac, eye, immune and mental health for throughout the last years.
So eating caviar is good for your overall health, but especially if you are pregnant or a child.
Where can I buy salmon roe?
Since the skeins with the roe are inside the salmon, if you were to buy fresh salmon directly from the fisherman or even from a grocery store, often when you clean the fish you will find the skein with the roe inside.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, you can also search for locations (google “salmon retail locations”) where Native Americans fish for and sell salmon and buy it directly from them.
Sometimes they will already have cleaned the fish with the salmon roes sold separately, sometimes you just have to buy the whole fish and expect it to have fish eggs inside.
Tips for success
Try to avoid using metal utensils when king salmon caviar. Wooden spoons and glass bowls are best, as they don’t rust salmon roe.
If possible, use filtered water to clean and process the salmon roe. Fish eggs take extra water very easily through the osmosis process, so using chemically charged tap water can negatively impact the delicate flavor of salmon caviar.