Curing Salmon Eggs

[jigstick]

Landed a monster king yesterday. She was loaded with eggs. I'd like to cure these eggs so that I can tie some egg sacs to use while steelhead fishing. How do I cure these eggs so that I can do this? When my buddy gave me some eggs last year they didn't appear to have any borax on them. They were just in a jar. And I spooned them into my netting to make the spawn sacs. But I have no idea how he cured them. Right now I just have the eggs in the fridge.

[steelie]

Im guessing that they are still in skein form, correct?

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Edited August 17, 2015 by steelie

[jigstick]

one side I left in skein. The other side I scraped the eggs off the skein with a spoon. Both are in a bowl in my fridge at the moment

[steelie]

Perfect, spoon method is the best. I use Borax o fire. Everyone has their own opinions, but I have used every method/cure and this stuff is the best and easiest to use. The only thing is to not use to much or they will dry or get "gummy". Probably a tablespoon or so for the loose eggs

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[jigstick]

What is "borax o fire"? I have some 20 MuleTeam borax here. I'm located in Pittsburgh, and my local Ganders and Field and Streams don't have a good selection of curing products. Can I order something online? How long do I have to get these cured before they go bad in my fridge?

[Sk8man]

I haven't stream fished  for a bit but I used to do a lot of it. What I ended up with after using all the commercial things and borax etc. for many years was going back to more natural "basics". After making up my sacks  I used small glass jars and placed the sacks in them and then poured vegetable oil and some salt in totally filling the jars and keep them in the refrigerator (no freezer). I have used them three years afterward and they were fine. As long as they don't become exposed to air they hold up real well and when you use them the oil and salt nearly immediately wash off and you then have"natural" soft sacks.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Sk8man

[steelie]

What is "borax o fire"? I have some 20 MuleTeam borax here. I'm located in Pittsburgh, and my local Ganders and Field and Streams don't have a good selection of curing products. Can I order something online? How long do I have to get these cured before they go bad in my fridge?

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[jigstick]

Anybody use a Borax - Sugar - Salt dry cure to do this?  Specifically so I can use the eggs to tie egg sacs for stream fishing steelhead. 

[Firechief48]

You can order cures on line or use one of the many home recipes you can also find online. I myself use Procure which I get at Gander. It's just loose crystal form that mixes in with the eggs and then you can leave in refrigerator or freeze for later. I've thawed, frozen and repeated many times and not a problem. Some say they don't like this cure but the Steelhead don't seem to care much. Good luck.

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[TyeeTanic]

We just use table spoon of salt and sugar in river water. Let them cure over night in that and then dewatering and dry in a paper towel. Then leave in the fridge for another 12 hours to fully cure.

After i spoon about what I need for a days fishing into seran wrap and twist it closed. I put all the sacks into a cardboard box filled with shredded newspaper. I have eggs like this that are 5 years old and still good. Trick is to dethaw them overnight in the fridge. A fast the in warm temperature will make the egg skin break and you lose a lot.

[jigstick]

I tried curing a few table spoons with the 3-2-1 mix of 20 MuleTeam Borax, sugar, and non-iodized salt. I threw the eggs in a zip lock bag and sprinkled in the cure mix. It seemed to pull a ton of moisture out of the eggs and almost made a soup. I let it sit like that for an hour or so Nd then dumped them into a paper towel to dry off. Then put them in a jar. Was I supposed to leave them in all that juice?

[Firechief48]

No the juice should be drained

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