I would simply poach in some white wine and serve with butter and lemon...ala shad roe.
Just don't over cook....or you will be serving sacs of tiny little gritty bits.
Linda c

Can I make taramosalata starting with fresh roe? The standard recipe uses tarama, which is "salted and cured cod roe". I don't know what is involved in the curing.

I'm quite certain the roe is not cooked for this preparation because the taramosalata is a pink or orange color, while cooked cod roe becomes gray, from what I have read.

Jim

Oh lord, I remember my Grandma frying it in corn meal with the bass they had caught! Loved it! Thanks for the memory.

I don't know...
Probably you could "cure" it like you would make gravelox and then make the taramosalata from that....
But it's sooooo good sauteed in butter with lemon and butter....it would be a shame if you spoiled it trying to make cod roe out of striped bass eggs.
Linda C


Dining & Wine
Autos
Shad and the Other Roes of Spring
By BARBARA KAFKA
Published: Wednesday, May 27, 1998

SHAD roe is a delicacy that is a hallmark of spring, but shad is hardly the only fish whose eggs make a delightfully rich supper or snack this time of year.
It is easy enough to think of black caviar made of sturgeon eggs, red caviar made of salmon eggs, taramosalata, which is pureed cod roe, and botarga, the tuna or cod eggs that are often used in salads in Mediterranean countries.
But we tend to ignore fresh pike and striped bass roes, which can be obtained from fish stores from time to time by those savvy enough to call well in advance.
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STRIPED BASS : has the most elegant roe. When cooked, it has a creamy texture and color much like a fine quenelle. Overfishing has diminished the size of the bass that are caught and consequently the size of the roe available; the roe from one striped bass makes just a snack-size meal.
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Pike roe is delicious and finer in texture than shad roe. Trout roe is not available in fish stores, but the fortunate angler can discover how wonderful it is. These other fish roes are also available intermittently through the year, unlike shad, whose season ends by mid-June.
From my point of view all roes, including shad, are routinely badly cooked. Shad roe is usually sauteed or broiled; both methods toughen the egg sac and dry out the tender eggs.
For years, I have poached roe instead in butter, which is truly delicious but fattening and expensive (a dinner-size portion of roe can easily use up a pound of butter). I give the recipe here for those who are willing to ignore practical concerns for the sake of experiencing the best.
AS with most things in life, ''live and learn'' applies to cooking fish roe. My assistant, Esti Marpet, poached pike roe in a court bouillon -- a mixture of water, wine, vegetables and herbs. It is a much less fattening and less expensive method, yet we found it to be full of flavor.
Of course, you can poach roe in water, which has the great advantages of allowing you to save the cooked roe and eat it cold later (poaching in butter does not produce an appealing dish of leftovers).
Cover the roe with boiling water or court bouillon by an inch and simmer until the roe is opaque. Shad roe will take 9 minutes, pike roe 50 minutes and bass roe 11 minutes.
Roes can be served whole, and the larger roes can be sliced across into about inch-thick slices. Hot or cold, roe can be served simply with a slice of lemon, but sauces can be very pleasant, even festive.
If the roe has been poached in butter, a butter-based sauce, like the brown butter sauce here, would complement it well. For cold roe, try the South of Spain Sauce, a lively combination of peppers, onions and tomatoes that is also served cold.
Fish eggs bind fat just as hen eggs do to make mayonnaise- or hollandaise-type sauces; these can be embellished with shallots, garlic or other fresh herbs. I particularly like to do this trick when someone has caught trout, using the roe to make the sauce. The roe mayonnaise here makes an appetizing dip for the season's fresh vegetables.
SHAD ROE POACHED IN BUTTER

Lou! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

What a great find! And very welcome information, of course.

One fact in the article is outdated, which is fortunate. Striped bass are no longer scarce. Big ones are now plentiful.

Jim

I've eaten roe from the spotted weakfish (a Gulf fish commonly called 'speckled trout') lightly battered and quickly deep fried. Delicious.

Arley:
They are up the East Coast too. They are a Sea Trout.
We caught them in Delaware and Chesapeak Bay.

First time I heard anyone here batterer fish. Don't they break all apart ??? Lol

I did that awhile back. made a thicker Pancake type Batter,
with just Egg and Flour,
with all the good spices. They ate them like Chips.

Think I'll do some with Flounder.
Lou

Lou: if you order a trout dish in a New Orleans restaurant, odds are it'll be a weakfish--the spotted weakfish, or the white weakfish, called locally 'speckled trout' and 'white trout' respectively.

I have many fond childhood memories of catching those with my dad off the La. coast. Didn't know they inhabited the Atlantic coast as well.

When I purchase fresh flounder at the farmer's market, I ask the fishmonger to give me the pieces without the roe. No use wasting it on me.

Arley:
I think the one I'm speaking of is not the same, it's called a Weaky, Weakfish, or Sea Trout.
It habitat's deeper waters.

Here's one caught in the 80's. Not a good Photo.

{{gwi:1523156}}

Probably look the same.
Lou

"The striper roe is small and orange in color."

By "small" I meant that the eggs are small. A pair of egg sacs from these fish weigh a pound, which is larger than some small whole fish I have eaten.

Thanks to everyone, Lou and LindaC especially, for helping me with this subject. I really appreciate it.

Jim