How to Cure Egg Roe With Borax

A great way to optimize your chances of catching Steelhead fish is by baiting your hook with roe. Roe is the ripened egg masses from fish. If your lucky enough to catch a Salmon or a Steelhead, remove the roe skeins and cure them for later use. There are a few ways to cure the roe, but curing with Borax is highly recommended if you plan on freezing your roe to use later in the season. This inexpensive recipe will help keep your bait usable for up to a year.

Things You'll Need

  • Roe
  • Rubber gloves
  • Knife
  • Cooking pot
  • White paper towels
  • Borax
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 quart water
  • Reuseable, re-sealable zipper plastic bags (like those made by Ziploc brand)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Put on your rubber gloves to avoid contaminating the the roe with human scent. After removing the roe from the fish, immediately rinse the eggs in the water that the fish was caught in to avoid growing bacteria from the blood.

    • 2

      Pat the roe dry with plain white paper towels. Leave to dry completely.

    • 3

      Combine the water, salt, sugar, and 1 cup Borax in a pot. Bring to a boil while stirring to ensure that the ingredients are well blended. Remove from the stove and let cool to room temperature.

    • 4

      Cut the roe with a knife into bait size chunks. Set the pieces into the pot of room temperature brine. Soak for one hour.

    • 5

      Remove the chunks from the brine and place them on plain white paper towels to dry. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours or until desired texture is reached. The longer they refrigerate, the harder they get.

    • 6

      Dust the roe with Borax and seal in the re-sealable plastic bags. Remove as much air as possible from the bags. Place the bags in the freezer until you wish to use them.

    • 7

      Thaw the roe by placing in the microwave for 30 seconds to one minute. Anything longer than that will cook the eggs.