Ikura

ikura1DON’T THROW salmon egg skeins to the seals, or use them as bait. Make ikura, Japanese-style caviar.

First you need to get the eggs out of the skein. A wire cookie rack works well. Place it over a large mixing bowl, tear open a skein, and run it back and forth over the rack. The eggs fall easily into the bowl. Besides doing the job quickly with minimal wastage, this process is an object lesson in the durability of salmon eggs. 
 

3/4 cup dashi *
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp aji-mirrin
2 tsp kosher salt
2 small skeins salmon roe

* Use a store-bought dashi packet for convenience, or see my post for a homemade dashi here.

1. Remove salmon eggs from skein (see cookie rack method above). Rinse eggs under tap.

2. Mix curing ingredients together in a bowl and add the eggs. Refrigerate overnight, curing from 12 to 24 hours.

3. Drain. Ikura will keep in a refrigerated glass jar for several days.

I’ve eaten variations of salmon caviar and ikura made from every species of Pacific salmon. They’re all good. Chum salmon eggs are especially beloved in Japan, but pinks have their own merits. The briny goodness of cured salmon eggs popping in your mouth is one of the great culinary delights—and a good reason to go catch a salmon.

One thought on “Ikura

  1. Ivette

    May be someone can help me with this problem! I do not know if I am doing something wrong during the process or the trout roe that I am getting has a problem. I have done this process 5 times and the first three batches where great but my last two badges have being a problem. I received the trout roe in the sack, first I put the whole sack in a salted brine for 10 minutes to harden the eggs a little and then start the process of the warm water (105*F to 110*F) by soaking the sacks for a few seconds until the sack turns almost white. I start getting the eggs out of the sack. When the roe is clean I brine the roe for 30 minutes in salted water, soy sauce and brown sugar. After brining I rinse the roe with cold tap water. The skin of the roe does NOT harden and within a day I start losing eggs (they lose the liquid in side). The first three times I did this it worked beautiful! I am afraid of ruining more trout roe! Anyone has had a similar bad experience?

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