How to make Bottarga

Instructions by Executive Chef, Colin Moody, CEC, PCII

Above image from Tasmanian Artisan

About Bottarga

Black Cod Breakdown

While filming a video called “How to Process Fish like a Chef,” we were pleasantly surprised by the huge portion of roe that came out of the black cod we were provided by our local fish purveyor. Fin + Forage head chef, Colin Moody, is a firm believer in making use of the whole fish and decided to make use of the roe by curing, then smoking it. Curing roe is a common preparation, used in almost all cultures and is commonly called Bottarga.

Bottarga is a delicacy dating back to 10th century BCE that is made by curing and dry aging the roe from fish, typically grey mullet and tuna but in our case, we used black cod because that is what we had available.

Bottarga is used in many hors d’oeuvres but is typically grated with a microplane over pasta dishes. You can add it to a dish as simple as spaghetti with fried bread crumbs, or get extravagant with a seafood carbonara. It provides delicious, salty umami and can be cured with many different spices and flavors depending on what dishes you would like to use it in.

How to Make Bottarga

Roe curing in salt

With a little patience and love, you can easily make a mouthwatering addition that is sure to elevate your meal, excite your taste buds and impress your guests.

Before you begin, please research the fish roe you use as some, like cabezon, can be poisonous. After carefully processing the fish, careful not to puncture the various internal organs which could contaminate the roe. Remove the sack pat dry with a towel, and set it in a brine overnight.

Before the Salt Brine

After the Salt Brine

The next day, coat it in olive oil and set it in a mixture of sea salt (learn how make sea salt here), orange and lime zest. Thoroughly cover it in the mixture, then remove and set it on a paper towel to absorb the moisture it starts releasing. Change out the towels frequently as it will release liquid and add more salt mixture as needed to keep it coated.

Culinary smoker

The amount of time you continue doing this depends on the desired consistency you want for your meals. 1.5 weeks in your refrigerator will yield a soft slab that is easier to slice but harder to grate. 3 weeks will ensure a full cure and you should have a much harder plank, which is closer to the traditional application. Once it feels firm to the touch, it is finished.

Colin, however, took it a step further by reapplying the olive oil and then smoked it using a culinary smoke infuser.

If you decide to get creative with which spices and flavors you use in your cure, let us know how it goes!

We love when the community includes us in their culinary adventures, please tag us so we can see your creativity!