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when i was a boy we went salmon fishing in washing and if i remember right the guys that was catchin the most used roe not tied in spawn sacs, just held on by the egg knot. Has anyone heard of this before, if so what kind of curing do you have to do for that to work.
I have always used the spawn sacs but just want to know if there is another way that might work better.
If you have a good recipe you will share for either way much appreciated
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[cool][#0000ff]There are several commercially available "roe cures" on the market. Most of them have some percentage of borax and/or salt or sugar. Some have fancy dyes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When I lived in Sacramento I fished all up and down the Pacific coasts of California and Oregon. Always cured my own roe. Basically I would get the fresh skeins from a hen salmon or steelhead and freeze them without curing. Put them in small plastic bags and squeeze out all the air. Then, the night before a trip you thaw the skeins at room temp...no microwave "popcorn". When the skeins of eggs are flexible, cut them into cluster size with sharp scissors or with a super sharp knife...from underneath. Don't smash them down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Spread the newly cut clusters (with membrane) on paper towels. Then take some plain old Borax (laundry product) and sprinkle it lightly over the egg clusters. Now do the same with some white sugar. Do both sides. Then put them into a plastic bag and into a sturdy small plastic container to keep them from being crushed. I like to use a little soup sized Thermos container. Keeps them cool in warm temps and keeps them from freezing when it is very cold. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The eggs will turn a nice bright orange without any dyes or other colorations. That natural color usually produces better than the exotic bright reds of some of the commercial stuff.[/#0000ff]
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I talked to a guide last weekend and he uses Pautzke fire cure for salmon fishing and Pautzke boraxo for steelhead fishing. i haven't tried it yet but i am planning on it.
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google it, there are a ton of recipes out there. Almost all of them contain borax, salt, and sugar. If you want to add some color or some additonal scent, add jello. Strawberry or Rasberry are the two flavors we used in Alaska.
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I use eggs all the time, doesn't matter if they are from a trout, sucker, carp.
I keep a gallon size zip lock with about a 3 inch deep mixture of borax, salt and orange jello.
Any eggs go into the bag imediatly. I will put them into the fridge in a bowl of some sort as soon as I get home, with a fresh coating of the borax mixture.
The next day I lay them out in a cool dry spot and ley them dry out for a day.
Then back into a bag with another light coating of the mixture, and into the freezer.
They will get firm and gummy, you can easily cut chunks and bait a hook
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i'm a big fan of pautzke's fire cure. very hard to ruin a batch of eggs. biggest thing to remember is you always want to butterfly your eggs, or cut them in a way that the cure can penetrate between all the individual eggs. also, dont be alarmed if they are initially very soupy. that is supposed to happen. the cure draws most of the liquid out of the egg, then over a period of time, the eggs will re-absorb the liquid....then bingo....big juicy plumb cured eggs!! i like a more dry/rubbery egg, so i air dry a bit longer. they stay on the hook longer that way. good luck!
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thanks for all the help fellas, much apprecitive
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My advice is quite simple, never freeze your eggs prior to curing them. Freezing them causes the liquid inside the eggs to expand, causing the egg membrane to develop microfractures which in turn makes the egg much more fragile. I suggest you butterfly the skein, sprinkle on your egg cure (be careful if you are using chemical cures, as they will burn the eggs if you use too much), and then place them in a zip-loc for 1 to 3 days, gently "massaging them" to mix the cure and egg juices occasionally. They will milk out some of the juice, then reabsorb it. Once they reabsorb some or most of the juice, you can either freeze the eggs or use them. I sometimes use eggs the next day, and they may be a bit wet, but they are fishable. It is also helpful to let them air dry for a day or so before using them, if you have time. The night before your trip, cut them in bait sized chunks, roll them in borax and store them in a tupperware container. That way they are ready to go...
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I'm going to Alaska later this summer and wanted to bring back some roe. How would be the best way to transport them? The party I'm going with never keep the roe and I was planning on vaccum packing and them freezing them for transport. Would that work or is there a better way without freezing them? I'm pretty green to all this salmon/steelhead stuff.
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Cure the eggs and freeze them. If you vacuum pack them before freezing the vacuum will crush the eggs.
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Thanks MMDon. Good call! I would have been bummed if I ruined them before I even tried to cure them.
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tried the borax o' fire and it worked great, very easy to do
I did put them in the sun for awhile after i cured them because i didnt want soft eggs. Im tryin to cure them in a way i dont need spawn sacks. Dont know yet but will see how that turns out
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Wormsinker, my suggestion is to let your eggs dry and firm up a bit in a cool dark area, The sun will damage them making them much n=more fragile once they get in the water. You want to be able to have your eggs last more than one drift...
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I usually use pro cure but any cures work... If your looking for really tough eggs it takes 3-4 days to cure them up right. Like others have posted keep them out of the sun. I dont mind freezing them before i cure them never had any problems. Never will use spawn sacs... Waste of time in my opinion. Caught 2 salmon on the same eggs before with out rebaitin... Wormsinker its more or less how you want your eggs. If you want them really tough keep them in the juice the whole time. If you need them to toughen up bring one skein out at a time and let them dry while your fishing. You will figure it out just dont resort to spwn sacs... lol jk
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i agree with lsr83. i vacuum pack and freeze eggs prior to curing all the time. ive never had any issues with damaging eggs. they turn out great. but, to each his own. whatever works for you, stick with it.
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