I have a related question, but I couldn't find the specific answer I was looking for. Long story short, I came into a lot of loose roe, way more then I can use. It is curing now, and being the generous guy I am, I am going to spend Sunday afternoon tying roe bags for all a few of my friends for steelhead season. My question is about storing.
When I read "freeze it in borax" do you just sprinkle or roll the bags in borax to form an outer layer or do you put it in a jar and completely cover it? It seems to me that completely covering the eggs in borax would dry them out, but I could be wrong. For the record, they were cured in a brine, but I will dry them out tomorrow.
Dude, I am in the same boat. Buddy gave me a ziplock full of nice, plump, juicy single chum eggs. I did a fair bit of reading on this and talked to a guide I know. Consensus seems to be....
The "best" thing to do is first harden them in river water. Ideally in something like a mesh stocking so cold fresh water is constantly running though the eggs. Do this for an hour or so. If river water is not an option the next best thing is under the tap for an hour or so.
My buddy who gave me the eggs did not do this, and I did not feel like rigging something up in the kitchen sink after I was given the eggs, so I went right to step 2. Apparently step 1 can be skipped but it results in a harder, more durable egg.
Step 2 (or 1 if you skip step 1) is to heat up some water in a pot and make a saturated salt solution. I was told to use non-iodized salt. I had some pickling salt and used that. Let the water cool in prep for the next step.
Now put the eggs in a jar and pour the salt water over them. There must be enough water to cover the eggs. More is ok but not needed.
I was told after 24 hours the eggs should look nice and plump, with a visible red dot on them. If you take an egg out and squeeze it, it should not break very easily. If you toss it on the table it should have some bounce to it.
The sacks can be tied up after 24hrs or so, but waiting several more days is no big deal. Mine went in about 24hrs ago but I'm not going to have time to tie them up until Tuesday.
After you tie up your sacks now what to do with them?!?!
I was advised N-O-T to freeze them. Just as is in a jar they will likely burst. If you pack them in borax yes they will likely not burst but the borax is going to dry out your nice plump juicy eggs you've worked so hard to achieve! Apparently they will rehydrate once they are being fished and hit the water.
The better way to go I'm told is just to keep them in the fridge in a container, not in brine, ready to fish. They'll last this way for a month easily. I do not plan to fish mine right away, and I'm tying up crap loads, so I was advised to store them in the fridge in the same salt brine used to harden them. Guide friend said he will keep them like this for up to a year. Just remove from brine before you go fishing, and if you have leftovers just pop them back in the brine when you get home.
Admittedly, I have not tried this yet, but this was the knowledge passed onto me from guys who have been dong this for decades.
Author
Topic: Curing Roe - Advice? (Read 12361 times)