How to prepare smelt roe?

April 24, 2023 11:18 AM

What it says on the (caviar) tin. I got some fresh whole wild Alaskan smelt yesterday and they were full of roe. I removed, saved, and refrigerated the roe. What do I do with it today to make it especially delicious? Can I cure it with salt or ume vinegar or something? How long do I cure it for? I love masago and tobiko sushi -- has that been prepared or marinated in any way? There's an Asian market near me if some specialty items would help.
posted by cnidaria to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

This is how my mom used to prepare it. Breaded and deep fried. It was delicious.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:45 PM on April 24, 2023

What about taramasalata? I just made it with cod roe and a bit of mullet roe, but I think it would be much better with smelt roe.
posted by mumimor at 12:57 PM on April 24, 2023

I got some fresh whole wild Alaskan smelt yesterday and they were full of roe. I removed, saved, and refrigerated the roe.

Note: cnidaria has unprocessed smelt roe, and wants to know how to process or cook it.

I think recipes like taramasalata generally use salted/cured roe?
posted by zamboni at 2:08 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I'm intrigued by your question-- I LOVE smelt! You have fresh smelt + roe! Lucky you!-- did a search, how to cure smelt roe, got hits for mostly salmon. But this one, from The Intrepid Eater, is how to cure pike roe, and has pictures that may be useful for you to determine how close smelt comes to pike roe in terms of egg size and skein size.
This ehow link How to Clean & Cook Fish Roe might be helpful as it describes cleaning the roe sac, pan frying, poaching, or curing (but without amounts for brine as in the first link).
posted by winesong at 2:50 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

(I'm fascinated by this question but alas also agreeing that taramasalata, one of the best things on earth to eat, does use cured roe.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:08 PM on April 24, 2023

Best answer: The masago on your sushi, at least what you're likely to get anywhere in North America, comes with sugar and salt, sometimes vinegar, soy sauce, MSG, colour, etc. But if it were me, I'd start by trying the plain roe and then adding salt, sugar, rice or other vinegar or soy sauce depending on where the taste took me. You only really need to worry about curing it properly if you're hoping to preserve it, which you probably don't need to do unless you are dealing with a lot of roe.

We used to eat herring roe, which is not entirely dissimilar, straight from the kelp that it was stuck on to.
posted by ssg at 8:19 PM on April 24, 2023

Response by poster: Ya'll are making me think I should go back to the grocery store (or the fishmongers) and a grab another couple handfuls of smelt (and their roe) to experiment with! <3
posted by cnidaria at 10:06 PM on April 24, 2023

I think recipes like taramasalata generally use salted/cured roe?

Yes, sorry. I used fresh cod roe mixed with cured mullet roe for tang and saltiness. I couldn't find smoked cod roe, which is good. Mullet roe is very expensive here, that's why I used a mix.
posted by mumimor at 12:00 AM on April 25, 2023

In case it’s helpful, here’s a link to a recipe for curing salmon roe which I have used. I don’t know how it would compare to tiny smelt roe. (I prefer the salmon roe cured in soy/mirin, but I’m not sure where that recipe came from on the internet. If you want it I can look it up in my book.)
posted by leahwrenn at 9:25 PM on April 25, 2023