caviar.htm

Name: Caviar	No. Servings = size of fish...?
Special Ingredients
Sturgeon egg sacks "membranes"	Wood Spoon
1 Large pot of boiling water	Cloth bag or non-metal strainer
1 new brush - medium soft	Plain Salt...non-iodized
1 white onions....minced small	1 large empty pot
Pepper to taste	Empty large Bowl
Egg separation Process
Carefully remove the Egg Skeins from the female sturgeon - place the eggs in a cold place to preserve their freshness. Process the caviar in less than 24 hrs. or freeze it. If the eggs spoil or are left out longer than 24 hrs - discard them.
Place 2 or 3 pounds of eggs skeins in an empty pot. Pour boiling water over them to remove the substance that holds the eggs to the skeins. Stir the egg skeins with a wood spoon and also separate the folds of the skein to expose all the eggs to the hot water. Continue to stir the egg skeins until the eggs start to separate from the skeins and float to the top of the hot water.
Now, pour off the hot water through a strainer to catch the egg masses. Return the eggs to an empty bowl and cover the eggs and skeins with cold water.
Skim off the floating eggs to another bowl and keep covered with cold water. Use this bowl to collect all the eggs that eventually separate from the egg skeins. Note that membranes pieces from the egg skeins will float to the top....remove this material and discard.
Use a soft brush to remove the remaining eggs from the skeins. Open all the folds of skein membranes and brush out the eggs that are still attached to the skeins. Do this under the water so that the eggs will float to the surface - remove the eggs as they accumulate - to the holding bowl.
When most of the eggs have been brushed from the skeins, you have done a good job......continue to float the eggs in cold water. Discard the empty skeins.
Pick out the floating pieces of membrane from the eggs and then pour the eggs through a strainer to separate the eggs from the water. Put the eggs into another smaller mixing bowl. The eggs should now be cold, clean and dry - they are ready to preserve.
Stir in enough salt to preserve and firm up the eggs, and to provide the salty taste that is common to Caviar - about 6 tablespoons of non-iodized salt. Sea salt works good.
Add 1/2 an onion "minced fine" and stir the egg/salt/onion mixture well. The onions can be removed if their flavor is not welcome.
Place the Caviar mixture in a cloth bag or nonmetal strainer and place that inside another vessel to catch the drippings. Keep the whole thing refrigerated overnight, allowing the last moisture to drain away from the Caviar. When that has been done, the Caviar may be returned to a bowl and refrigerated again. Cover to prevent drying out. The Caviar can also be put into small jars for storage in the refrigerator.
At the dining table, serve the Sturgeon-egg Caviar as a special delicacy spread over bread or crackers. Serve the Caviar with chopped onions, eggs, and lemon.