SC - RE: Roe

[Philip & Susan Troy]

LrdRas at aol.com wrote:
> 
> The next time you have the privilege to get any of this delicacy, I would
> recommend soaking the roe over night in salt water and carefully removing the
> membranes the next day before continuing with your recipe. This jot only
> should remove bitterness but also removes any overpowering fishy taste and
> sweetens it.

Well, I considered doing the whole classical treatment, more or less the
same as for sweetbreads, but these were small and there weren't many of
them, and I just wanted to get rid of them in legitimate fashion. There
really was very little fishy taste, but then I suspect you might find
that more of a problem than me. Maybe because you live further from the
ocean than me, but I don't find a fishy taste necessarily a problem.
Anyway, these were impeccably fresh and sweet, locally caught in the
early morning, and kept on ice the entire time, cleaned and eaten
probably three hours or less after being taken from the ocean (probably
really the Great South Bay, off Long Island). The soft roes or milts,
the roe of the male porgy, was especially good. Maybe you could add that
to your list of good-tasting testicles? 
 
> OTOH, not all fish roes are edible and, IIRC, a few species may be poisonous.
> Did you check to see if porgy roe was edible first? As a side note, bluegill
> roe is particularly tasty as I bullhead roe. Soak, saute in butter and then
> mix with scrambled eggs for a tasty breakfast or brunch dish.

I had read previously that porgy roe was safe to eat, the major concern
being with polluted waters, which gets the State Fish and Wildlife
service issuing warnings about certain species you either shouldn't eat,
or whose consumption you should limit to X meals per week. Porgy hasn't
ever been a problem, AFAIK. The big no-no is currently eating more than
a certain amount of the local striped bass, which, considering the
markets are now full of farmed ones, is not a problem for me...

I really miss being able to go and catch a six-pound black seabass,
though. They should have established size limits long ago, I suspect...

I'll file the info on bullhead and bluegill roe for future reference;
it's almost certain to come in handy this summer.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com