Bottarga ,mullet are early this year.

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

moikel

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jul 26, 2011
3,198
218
Sydney &Greenwell Point Australia
Ancient unchanged formula for preserving fish roe.

Salt,sunshine,air.

Normally its mullet in may .Big schools run up the coast close to shore.

Roe is worth more than the fish by a long way.I think sea mullet cleaned properly is nice fish but its crab pot bait to a lot of people.

I paid overs but I just grabbed 2 sets of roe.Price will come down bit but thanks to a few TV  chefs spilling the beans the price has jumped over the last few years.

I will insert a smoking stage in this batch,just in the MES at 50c for a few hours with very light smoke.

I can't go 100% traditional because thats air dried in the sun & I have to keep it out of reach of these 2.
 
M, I'll be interested to see the smoked roe ,sounds delicious.
The smoke part is really about drying it as well.I can set the MES at 40c & get the moisture out of the roe. I will then press it to get the salt all the wAy to the centre .
It's a really old school thing ,dare I say even BC . I you had salt you could preserve roe when it was abundant.It was dipped in bees wax then put away for months . Just about 100% protein ,sort of product that could be stretched to get you through lean times. Gourmet thing now at gourmet prices. I just like the heritage & history that goes with it.
If I could get olive wood or grapevine cuttings or even wild fennel fronds I would use those for the smoke.Just to keep it inside the rope as a Mediteranean product .
 
  • Like
Reactions: crazymoon

Thats the finished product ,after a light smoke over apple.

Pouring rain here ,localised flooding. 

Lunch will be a pasta with young veg,spinach,zucchini flowers with the little zucchini attached,young garlic,peas,cherry tomatoes butter ,EVO ,herbs.

No salt in the pasta water ,bottarga crumbled over the top for me. House hold won't eat it!

Getting mullet roe has been a bit tricky this season because the commercial processors have pushed the price up,they are shipping their finished product world wide.Trading on Australia's clean,safe food standards & waters. Its also mostly fished by launching off the beaches & getting chest deep in the surf .Where there are big schools of mullet there are sharks.
devil.gif
The risk factor & weather make the supply chain a bit tricky
biggrin.gif


Shoulder of young goat tonight ,household opting for vegetarian!
 

Really nice plate. Way back in the day you could keep your family fed if you had eggs,flour some veg out of the garden & bottarga for protein.Same principle as preserving anything ,it got you through tough times when you couldn't get fresh protein.

Now its all high end joints shaving it over tuna capriccio at $ 35 a plate but it was originally fishing village lean times staple.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dirtsailor2003
That looks awesome Mick. I really need to get into smoking more seafood now I'm on the coast.

You drowning yet? 2000km front is pretty amazing!
 
It just bucketed down for days. There is a lot of damage,beach erosion,flooding,power lines.

River broke its banks at Greenwell Point because there was a king tide as well.

I had to put the rubber boots on & carry the smoker to higher ground at 4 am!

I had 20mm of free board before it came in the back door!

East Coast fishing will be rubbish for weeks.

Mullet roe is one of those things where the history is as good as the product. 
 
My late mother was from Orillia Ontario & I traced her line all the way back to 1821 to some place called Coldwater.

Dad & her used to tell me you don't know what cold is son.They were right.

I am safe in my suburb ,I am also not stupid enough to ignore all warnings & try to drive through floodwaters
hit.gif
 or be a complete boof head & go for a swim because some TV camera is on me. Because you want to swim in dirty brown water with dead animals & sewerage in it ,right?

Its mostly property damage especially beach side. Biggest king tide of the year tonight is going to hurt
devil.gif
.

Its mostly stuff that fits in the PIA box for me,lucky I saved the smoker!
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky