The Poor Man's GOOD Caviar

[infinitecookbook]

Do you like black caviar but find it to be just too outrageously expensive? Beluga, Sevruga, Osetra... I love all of those but unless I win the lottery (or have a hit song) those are off the shopping list. But, a lot of the lower priced black caviar I've tried is nowhere near as good. The ones that are died and really salty are worthless in my opinion. Isn't there something in between? YES!!!!!!!! There is. Paddlefish caviar. Very similar to the Sturgeon caviar. Maybe not quite the same by the pickiest of comparisons but to my taste it's close enough to love and adore as a reasonably priced replacement.

There's a place called Kelly's Katch that you can order it from in the US and they'll ship it to you. That's where I get it. I also got it from a local importer here in Miami (that has all sorts of other great stuff like Truffles etc.) but for some reason it wasn't quite as good as Kelly's. Not sure why. But, anyway, it was still a lot better than other budget-priced black caviars so if I am desperate for just an ounce I'll get it locally at the place in Miami. But a good 7 ounce container for a party from Kelly's is hopefully a helpful tip to SOMEone on here. Let me know if it is! (I have no affiliation with Kelly's, just a fan).

Here's a picture of a spread I did with it:

 

[infinitecookbook]

Sorry if that looked like an ad. It's legit. I love Paddlefish caviar and I really think Kelly's is a good find. I didn't even post the link but you can look it up if you want to try it. If you DO try it all I ask is that you let me know what you think! Post something about it. I'd love to do a massive taste test between them all but that would be rather expensive (beluga, osetra and etc. haha - that'd be a good name for a less expensive caviar! etcetera!!!)

I did do some taste tests with the less expensive caviars to see if there was anything else besides Paddlefish that I thought was a good substitute for the pricey black caviar. But so far haven't found anything. I do like smelt eggs (masago) and flying fish eggs (tobiko) when making sushi. Salmon eggs are ok too (not a huge fan of that though). Spotted Prawn eggs are also good and there are others. But, when it comes to black "Sturgeon-like" caviar... it's a fun curiosity. Mainly because if you happen to like it then a drastically less expensive alternative may be of interest!

There's a great import place here in Miami called Marks that also has it. But as I said, it was very good but for whatever reason not quite as good as Kelly's. Again, I definitely don't work for either. I don't work in the food industry at all. I just cook at home for fun.

Here's two inexpensive caviars from Marky's. One was their Paddlefish and the other was Bowfin caviar which I didn't like at all.

 

[infinitecookbook]

Alright, here was one of my taste tests.

The one closest is the paddlefish caviar. Look how nutty it looks! It's on top of an egg spread I made with some cream. The one to the left is the bowfin caviar. Was a bit salty and I don't THINK it was died black but it kind of looks like it. Either way it got the thumbs down.

The other crackers have a truffled foie gras spread, a green onion chicken salad spread, an artichoke spread and a roasted pepper with fresh parmesan. Just having a little fun. But the crackers were OUTSTANDING. They are these little wafers they have at Markys. But they go bad after their expiration date and I've been going back to Markys every couple of weeks to get more. Unfortunately they don't have the new batches in and annoyingly they still have the ones that say "not so hot after April" stamped on them. But they're super thin, crispy and even pretty low on calories. So I wait patiently.

Anyway, notice there's no spam spread on any of the crackers. Don't think I didn't see that post! haha But hopefully we're clear now on that. I just like to pretend I'm a restaurant. I'm really just a musician who likes to cook.

 

[taxlady]

I have found that a lot of the "black" caviar that are dyed are actually dark green. Put a little bit on the yolk of a hard boiled egg. Drag the eggs off to the side. They usually leave a green trail. Maybe it's blue and looks green on the yellow yolk.

I like the taste of salmon roe, but I don't like the way those big eggs squish in my mouth.

 

[infinitecookbook]

First I am mortified that I used "died" instead of "dyed". I KNEW it looked wrong. It's too late to edit all my posts now isn't it? Haha. Ok from now on I'll get that right.

Funny thing about the salmon eggs, I actually like the squish in the mouth part but the taste is a bit too salty/fishy for me. Sometimes. Not always. There's a sushi chef in LA who I trust that gave it to me marinated in something and it was really good. But he has the midas touch.

 

[taxlady]

First I am mortified that I used "died" instead of "dyed". I KNEW it looked wrong. It's too late to edit all my posts now isn't it? Haha. Ok from now on I'll get that right.

Funny thing about the salmon eggs, I actually like the squish in the mouth part but the taste is a bit too salty/fishy for me. Sometimes. Not always. There's a sushi chef in LA who I trust that gave it to me marinated in something and it was really good. But he has the midas touch.

I haven't had salmon roe in quite a while, but if I ever got a jar that tasted "fishy", I would probably bring it back and say it wasn't fresh.

I don't eat a lot of fish now that I live near Montreal - I don't consider it fresh enough. I used to get really fresh fish in Copenhagen and got spoiled.

 

[infinitecookbook]

Maybe more salty than fishy but sometimes better than others. I've never gotten a jar of it. I meant more at sushi restaurants.

But yeah fresh is key. I do eat previously frozen though as well but of course I prefer fresh. I stayed in Vancouver a lot last year and that was a fresh seafood extravaganza. Loved it. Beautiful place too. I've never been to Montreal. I sometimes do some work with a band that's in Toronto but I haven't been there either. Might go one of these days. Actually if I do any touring this year at all we will probably tour Canada because the artist I've been working with is based in Vancouver.

 

[taxlady]

I have no objection to frozen wild fish, especially when they freeze them on the boat. That's the freshest way to get fish when you aren't near the ocean.

I always eat seafood when I get to the Maritimes or the Gaspé (That's the eastern bit of Québec that is just north of New Brunswick.). I had winkles in the Gaspé. They were really yummy.

 

[infinitecookbook]

Winkles??? THAT is the nick name I should have chosen. Sounds like a creature from The Hobbit. I am just exposing my ignorance here as I had never heard of them before. I just googled them though and they look essentially like sea snails. Anything from the sea with a shell is on my menu! Are they good? How do you cook them? Steamed with some butter?

I once had a live snail. It was a really awkward situation. I was having dinner with our Japanese distributor (for music software) and he took us to a Shabu Shabu place which was really nice (real Kobe beef and everything). They had an appetizer that was essentially a live snail (looked like a Winkle... hmmm is the singular for Winkles a winkle? ). My business partner from Italy wouldn't touch it. It was sitting on a bed of what I thought was chopped radish. I took some radish not fully paying attention and after it went into my mouth I realized it was wet salt!!!!! A whole GOB of wet salt in my mouth. So to balance that I quickly went for the raw snail. You had to take it out with a toothpick and he even fought a little (can you blame him?). Or maybe it was just the suction... I don't know but I had to do something about this salty taste in my mouth so I ate the snail and... it was really good! I liked it so much that I offered to eat my partner's snail since he wouldn't touch it. Our Japanese distributor was so impressed that I was embracing the culture and so enthusiastic about the food. He didn't know anything about the salt situation though.

 

[taxlady]

I have no idea how the winkles were cooked. They were served to me and I ate them. They were delicious. So were the sea snails I had on Mallorca. That was fun. Earlier that afternoon, at low tide, all the waiters rolled up their pants and went into the bay and picked those sea snails while we watched. Some of the guests wouldn't eat them.

 

[CharlieD]

...
I like the taste of salmon roe, but I don't like the way those big eggs squish in my mouth.

If you use a lo of it, you will not feel any squishing. You can always pick a nice jar at any russian store. Look for Peter pan Brand, they are the best, and even better is Haifa Fish brand, but they are impossible to find.

 

[taxlady]

If you use a lo of it, you will not feel any squishing. You can always pick a nice jar at any russian store. Look for Peter pan Brand, they are the best, and even better is Haifa Fish brand, but they are impossible to find.

Thanks for the tip Charlie. A Russian store should be easier to find than a Scandinavian one. I wonder if DH will like it.

 

[justplainbill]

Best caviar and lox I've ever had was supplied for a company Christmas party by a few Russian immigrant employees. The peppar vodka was pretty good too. Thanks, Charlie for the Peter Pan tip; do you like smoked caviar?

 

[Caslon]

I've always wondered what's the proper cracker to serve caviar on is. Keep in mind that I'm shopping for it at my local major chain store. Any default brand for caviar that's on the shelves?

 

[infinitecookbook]

A very popular quality brand of cracker for it would be CARRS (the plain water cracker ideally so it doesn't interfere with the taste too much). But try Paddlefish caviar. It's reasonably priced and delicious. Not sure how easy it is to find locally which is why I was suggesting this place which I have had the best experience - http://www.kellyskatch.com (and no they don't send me an ounce as a kick back for sending them a customer... but they should!!!! haha. I am always recommending this place. But they're good.).

Now, CARRS is fine and available but this other wafer cracker is one of the best things ever and really great for caviar because the flavor is great but mild and the whole thing is light you can eat a million of them. I'll post a pick of the packaging. I haven't found it on line but I think I am going to try to find it because I am annoyed at the local place that can't seem to get a fresh batch in stock. As I said, the only thing about these wafers is they don't keep as long as other crackers... although all good crackers don't last TOO long before they get stale so I guess that's just the way it is.

 

[justplainbill]

I've always wondered what's the proper cracker to serve caviar on is. Keep in mind that I'm shopping for it at my local major chain store. Any default brand for caviar that's on the shelves?

I like Ritz crackers, but I guess the right stuff must be what the Ruskies use.

 

[infinitecookbook]

I like Ritz for cheese (although I haven't had it since the 70's I think... jk). But might be too salty for caviar.

Here's a pic of the Wafer Crisps they're called. These have a flavor but they have plain ones. Now to find where to get it besides from this local place. I'm impatient and I love these little things.

 

[Caslon]

In some James Bond or other movies where they're eating caviar (Patton), its somewhat a thick cracker, about 1\4" thick. From the color of it, it's also meant to be somewhat plain so as to not take away from the flavor of the caviar.

 

[infinitecookbook]

When in doubt always go with James Bond. Actually another good thing to use are these little toast crackers. That may be what you're talking about.

Something kind of like this:

 

[CharlieD]

Bill, I do not believe I ever had smoked caviar, interesting. As far as proper cracker to serve caviar on, well there isn't one. It is a poor man's choice. You take a piece of bread, regular size and shmear the same thickness caviar as bread on it. And my recommendations to eat it after you had diner or lunch, so you are no hungry anymore and eat this for pure self-satisfaction of eating caviar.

Sorry, growing up in Soviet Union caviar was not such a big deal, though it was impossible to buy in the store, but if you knew right people it was in abundance. We had both, black and red caviar shipped to us from factory where they were produced in gallon size containers. As you can imagine no amount of crackers could work to gobble up so much caviar.