Things You'll Need
- 1/2 cup table salt
- Cutting board
- Sheet pan
- Thick rubber or cloth gloves
- Chef's knife
- Kitchen shears
- Paper towels
- Plastic wrap
Instructions
Combine 2 qt. cold water and 1/2 cup salt in a large bowl to create a salty brine.
Place your cutting board on a sheet pan to catch juices that run off the board.
Cover your hands with a pair of thick rubber or cloth gloves, and position a sea urchin in the center of the cutting board with the small opening facing up.
Crack open the sea urchin by applying medium pressure to the small opening with the heal of a chef's knife. Do not cut all the way through the sea urchin.
Insert the tips of a pair of kitchen shears into the crack created by the chef's knife, and cut out a 1-inch circular opening.
Gently scoop out the yellow-orange sea urchin roe with a small spoon.
Rinse each piece of sea urchin roe in the bowl of cold salty brine to remove sand and grit.
Cover a plate with a couple of paper towels and line up the pieces of sea urchin roe so that each piece is overlapping by about an inch.
Loosely cover your fresh sea urchin roe with a piece of plastic wrap. Do not seal the plastic to the plate; just let it rest lightly on top.
Store your sea urchin roe in a refrigerator that keeps a constant temperature between 37 and 40 degree F for a maximum of three days.