How to Make Caviar
Dec 2nd, 2009 | By Hank | Category: Fish | Comments | 32 Comments |
Caviar has always had a hold on me. It is a mysterious ingredient, almost otherworldy; the individual eggs look like jewels from an alien planet. Caviar tastes briny and vaguely floral, and the textural surprise of the pop in your mouth has led more than one writer to liken it to Pop Rocks for adults.
I’ve eaten all sorts of caviar, from spendy Osetra sturgeon caviar to our own California white sturgeon eggs, to Paddlefish roe (also known as “lumpfish”) to the wonderful little eggs from flying fish (tobiko), capelin and whitefish, which is a golden yellow. I’ve also eaten caviar from trout and salmon.
So when I caught a nice hen steelhead last weekend and saw it was full of eggs, I knew I needed to make caviar. The eggs were just so pretty!
I’d read about a general method of making caviar in a book called The Philosopher Fish, which involves gently removing the eggs from the skein — the membrane holding them together — rinsing them, salting them and drying them. It seemed pretty easy, which alarmed me: How could something so mysterious be so easy to create? It didn’t seem fair.
I delved into some more research, and it is indeed that easy. The art comes in the details: How do you get the eggs out of the skein? How much salt? How long to brine or rub the eggs? What temperature do you store them at?
So I used an amalgam of the methods I’d read about. I brined the eggs for a half hour in the fridge. Then I ran the skein under hot tap water, which shrunk the membrane and let the eggs drop into a colander. I then returned the eggs to the brine for another 30 minutes. I rinsed them off and let them drain in the colander for 15 minutes. Then I packaged them into a clean glass jar in the fridge. Done!
(Click for the detailed caviar recipe.)
Aren’t they the coolest things ever? I have a hard time not taking them out of the fridge just to look at them. The steelhead caviar is supposed to hold for 2-3 weeks in the fridge, but I doubt it’ll make it that long — we’ll eat it long before then.
I prefer my caviar straight, served in a special spoon, so you can linger over the qualities of this caviar versus that one; this is what the Russians do when they serve the three classic sturgeon caviars: Beluga, Sevruga and Osetra. In case anyone cares, I am particularly fond of Osetra, which is pretty close to our caviar made from California white sturgeon. (You can buy California caviar here
Remove from your mind the notion that the only good caviar comes from sturgeon. The tobiko and masago you see in sushi restaurants is caviar from the flying fish and the capelin, a kind of herring. It really is like pop rocks. Whitefish caviar is even better, and is a beautiful canary color. Lumpfish is like a larger sturgeon caviar, but trout and salmon caviar is its own thing: large, luxurious, and slightly fatty — I saw thousands of minute fat droplets floating on the top of the brine when I made it.
When combined with a larger dish, caviar can become an accent that makes a good dish great.
I made a pasta dish with flaked steelhead meat last night, mixed with toasted pine nuts, parsley, shallots, olive oil, Meyer lemon juice — and a spoonful of steelhead caviar. The caviar’s color and pop really made the dish.
It also served well as a garnish for a simple Japanese dish I made two days ago, where I wrapped the steelhead in buttered foil with some rehydrated matsutake mushrooms, sake and lemon slices, then baked it for 20 minutes.
(Click for the full Japanese baked steelhead recipe.)
Will this method work for other fish roes? I don’t see why not. I imagine the salting times and care you will need to dislodge the eggs will change, but the basic technique shouldn’t change. I’ll have to try this with other eggs in the future. Do any of you make your own caviar? How do you do it? And how do you eat it?
I made this caviar once and it was great & a lot of fun…but it was a lot of caviar! (which, really, wasn’t that much of a problem..)
Holly, the caviar photos are just gorgeous. Hank, I’ve never made caviar, but you make it look so easy. I have tried a few different kinds. They are all really different, aren’t they? I always think it’s odd when people tell me, “I don’t like caviar” – and then I find out they have only tried one variety. My 8 year-old son loves the tobiko and masago varieties you get at sushi bars. Funny, kid will eat raw fish eggs, but won’t eat grapes.
I have never made caviar, but now have the inkling to give it a go. And yes, I reckon these might be the coolest thing ever. Love the color, the perfect roundness. They really have that look like they are just ready to burst.
Nice pics. I make caviar from all my salmonids. So easy it almost seems criminal!
Hank, I think this might be one of the coolest things you’ve ever done.
I’ve never made caviar…Tho’ I have had it. I love your pics…And it looks delicious : )
I can recommend a bit of good cognac in the brine. Maybe blasphemy to some, but still amazing.
Thanks everyone, re the photos! I was captivated by the fatty little yolks in these eggs. Had to get so close I was surprised I didn’t smoosh an egg on my lens…
David: Thanks for stopping by! What did you do with all that caviar, in Paris, no less?
Dawn: Kids’ food foibles are funny, aren’t they? I would eat scores of raw clams as a boy, but hated olives until I was in college.
Lang: Which salmonid makes the best, in your opinion?
Garrett: Thanks! If you come over this weekend, I can give you some.
Lance: What does the cognac do to the eggs?
Best is probably chinook, but I like ‘em all–even pinks!
Hank – thanks very much for the tips, I’ll be sure to check on that one.
How about shad? Anybody do this to shad?
Whenever I buy lobsters, I only buy females, so that I can take the roe and add it to whatever sauce I am making to give a real nice depth of lobster flavor. I”m not sure if this counts as making caviar, but it’s putting the lobster eggs to good use!
So do the eggs just come off the membrane when you run the roe under hot water? I wish I’d had that tip before I tackled my trout.
I separated the eggs by hand, brined them for 25 minutes, and drained them. Done. I made the simplest possible sauce for smoked trout cakes: Warm a couple tablespoons of roe in a little sour cream. Break a few of the eggs with the back of a spoon (to flavor the sour cream), and leave the rest whole.
Josh: I’ve not YET done it with shad, but I am betting that it would come out like tobiko.
Chris: I don’t specifically target femal lobsters, but when I get the coral I add it to sauces, too — and crab coral is vital to make she-crab soup!
Tamar: Yep, they fall right off.
Stunning! I’m not a huge caviar fan but my husband is. I’d love to surprise him with some homemade caviar.
I’m bookmarking this page!
Fun article and beautiful photos. I did cringe at the thought of brining the eggs for so long, since steelhead eggs only require three minutes of brining. I also winced at the thought of running the skein under hot water, because that toughens up the membrane and can denature the protiens in the eggs.
Here’s a recipe I was taught in Russia: http://oregonflyfishingblog.com/2009/02/25/winter-steelhead-feast-caviar-and-cutlets/
Wonderful post, exquisite photos. After throwing away–for many years, with much regret–the roe of autumn brown and brook trout, I decided a couple of years ago to figure out how to make trout caviar. The results impressed me so much, when I started a blog, that’s what I called it! In the past I’ve painstakingly separated the eggs from the skein with the back of a paring knife, so I’m happy to learn the hot water trick.
As another hunter, angler, gardener, and cook (and forager, and baker) I’m happy to have found your blog, too. I’m going to add it to my links list and look forward to checking in often.
All best~ Brett
RR: I swear by the warm water technique — note “warm,” not hot, which would indeed denature the proteins in the eggs. As for bringing time, I am not about to brine for just three minutes, but I could go a little shorter. My issue is I’d rather have these eggs available to me for two-three weeks than to be brighter and fresher — but spoil too quickly. I suppose it’d depend on whether I could serve it all in a short time.
Trout Caviar: Nice name! Warm water is definitely the way to go, IMHO. I will have to check out your site, too. Cheers!
Hi
tell me is there a reason that caviar seems to be made only from freshwater fish?
I wll try it with Snapper and perhaps Kingfish (Yellowtail) and hope that it tastes as good
Yeoman: No idea why caviar is mostly a freshwater thing. My only guess is that the caviar-making tradition originated far from the sea. But that’s just a guess.
Let me know how caviar from snapper and kingfish tastes! I’ve never done it with saltwater fish, although I’ve fried up flounder, mackerel, herring and sardine roe and it was good.
Wow! I never thought about making this, we get loads of fish in everyday, maybe I´ll tell my fishmonger to bring them whole (not cleaned), maybe he has been keeping a huge stash of eggs from me!
Happy New Year Hank!
Hank – I made a batch this evening using Russian River steelhead we caught two days ago. Is there a minimum time you would want the eggs to sit in the fridge before eating? Can’t wait to try them!!
Bodega: Minimum time? Uh, like an hour… Being so small, caviar doesn’t need to age much to get its cure on. I’d start eating them now and try to have them all eaten within two weeks.
I have not found a way to keep them more than three weeks without them getting really fishy. Maybe steam canning?
I’ve done this! I’ve made caviar with the brook trout egg pouch with the trout that we caught!!! It was amazing. Can’t wait for the season to open again.
I am from Azerbaijan, so I naturally grew up with caviar. Back home we ate it spread thinly on a slice of buttered bread – cream cheese will work too. Butter back in the Old country was eaten cold and sliced, never room temp and melted.
By way of cultural exchange, Here’s my recipe for venison (or beef) pasties. Just started hunting for the first time this year and shot my first deer this past November!
i was told my japanese people that i worked with that since the fish was in fresh water you shouldn’t eat it raw for fear of parasites. i KNOW this is true of the flesh. and it seems it could hold true of the roe as well.
when i made ikura from salmon, i wasted a lot of eggs – but i had a lot to start with!! i just rubbed the skein in a stack of paper towels. some eggs break but the rest break loose from the skein.
then cure is shoyu (soy sauce) and sake. the sake will make sure to kill any bugs. i left them brine for 12-24 hours before eating. so sweet and crisp!
Dockside Fish Market in Grand Marais, MN make caviar from Lake Superior herring roe. Delicious! Thanks for sharing the process. I love your blog. Naughty mushroom soup here I come!
This article was HUGELY helpful to me. I love trout caviar but have never actually prepared it myself until now. The utilization of these eggs is paramount to an angler. Now I just need to tie more flies!
i use catfish it is good. emerill used shad i believe.a combonation of cavier and fried roe is awesome.make a portabella sauce over a grilled fillet ohhhhh so good
Can anybody share their experiences converting paddle fish eggs into caviar, please?
Dinara: I’ve never worked with paddlefish roe, but there is no reason I see why it should be much different from steelhead roe. If I had some, I’d do exactly the same thing as with the steelhead. Give it a go, and let us know how it turns out!