curing roe

[redpearl99]

So I tried curing roe for the first time using the salt / brown sugar recipe. I tied some roe bags and put them in the freezer but the bags are still fairly soft and havent frozen at all. Aren't they suppose to freeze over in the freezer? my chicken breasts are like frozen bricks

[misfish]

You made them perfect then. Thats how mine are as well.

I dont tie and freeze,I just put the cured eggs in the freezer. A helpful hint. Wrap the plastic bag in news paper and tape closed.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Misfish

[Richie Razor]

I've used a couple of the commercial egg cures with good sucess - balls o Fire and borax o fire seem to be the best ones for me.

[misfish]

Forgot to add,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Good job rp99

 

 

Im not into commercial brines/cures. At min,I,ll just salt cure and air dry til tacky..

Edited September 4, 2013 by Misfish

[redpearl99]

thanks for the advice

[Canuck2fan]

Sounds right that it didn't freeze because of the sugar (ever tried to freeze honey solid?) Personally I don't cure, but I do tie it all and usually freeze it the day I get the roe. When I started out I got baffled by all the different cures everyone swore by.

 

Then I talked to an older guy who had been "catching" everytime I I saw him while I was usually just fishing. He explained a few things that he noticed I was doing wrong.... ie "Your damn leader is too short!!! Fish don't LOOK DOWN, son they can't." So I looked at the fish he continued to land and release and he was right their eyes didn't seem to be made to look down LOL.

 

So once I followed that advice, he realized I wasn't too stubborn, or stupid to learn. He passed on a few other gems about salmanoid fishing, one of which was. "Why bother curing roe? Do you think that BEFORE we fishermen started using it cured fish weren't interested in it, or did we start using it because it was something the fish wanted just the way it was?" That appealed to my lazy nature and I have followed that advice ever since....

[wallacio]

Most anglers cure roe so that it doesn't come out of the freezer as a goopy mess that is difficult to tie (curing pulls some/most of the moisture out of the eggs and toughens the outer membrane) and to extend it's "shelf life" when it's not frozen. That said, if you get out enough to use up your supply without it spoiling then there's no need to cure.

 

Loose roe (after it's been water hardened) will stand up better to being thawed after it's been frozen than will scraped skein but it still doesn't last long unfrozen before it spoils if uncured.

Edited September 4, 2013 by wallacio

[Canuck2fan]

Most anglers cure roe so that it doesn't come out of the freezer as a goopy mess that is difficult to tie (curing pulls some/most of the moisture out of the eggs and toughens the outer membrane) and to extend it's "shelf life" when it's not frozen. That said, if you get out enough to use up your supply without it spoiling then there's no need to cure.

 

Loose roe (after it's been water hardened) will stand up better to being thawed after it's been frozen than will scraped skein but it still doesn't last long unfrozen before it spoils if uncured.

 

Absolutely true about the goopy mess if you freeze any kind of roe that isn't water hardened or cured... I hate that problem. So I tie it all, and freeze it that night. Or if I am going out in the next few days I leave some in the fridge (no more than 5 days). Since I usually only fish with 2 or 3 people along using it up before it spoils has never been an issue. The only drawback to my method is I might have wanted slightly larger or smaller bags and more of one colour. Too avoid the goop though I gladly live with those limitations.

[redpearl99]

you guys tie it all in one night? that's like 300 roe bags

[wallacio]

I definitely wouldn't. I cure and freeze in small portions that I'll thaw and will use in a short period of time.

[Canuck2fan]

you guys tie it all in one night? that's like 300 roe bags

 

LOL and you thought fishing was all fun and games. Seriously though I haven't gotten a "salmon" with roe in a few years mainly because I don't target them too aggressively, (sickening watching the snagging and other antics that go on) My roe usually comes from trout. It is nothing for me to tie 100 to 150 bags or so while watching a movie...

[Rich]

Perfection!

[BillM]

I don't usually cure my eggs (although it really depends on the eggs).. As for freezing, I freeze in small ziplock bags a days portion at a time. One normal sized ziplock will usually hold 5-6 smaller ziplock bags full of eggs. Take one out, let it thaw and tie it up.. If I've got loose chinny roe, I'll usually do a cure on it, but brownie or steelhead roe from the US? Not a chance.... tie it up fresh and store the rest in the freezer.