Scallop roe - eating it raw?

[rarerollingobject]

I've long been a fan of raw scallops, as tartare, ceviche or sashimi. And I do love the roe, or the coral, but have always cooked them when I've bought scallops with the roe attached.

What about eating them raw?? I must say it's never occurred to me until now, until this evening, mid-chew of some nice cooked scallops and roe; but I can't think of a reason why not. Though I've never heard of or seen anyone doing it, even in all my sushi-eating time in Japan.

Both Google and eG searches are strangely silent on the subject too - anyone here tried it?

[GlorifiedRice]

In the USA we almost never get Scallops with the roe attached or in the shell. You are so lucky

[Prawncrackers]

You're right rro, I don't think i've seen scallop roes eaten raw anywhere either. Scallop sashimi is great, what do they do with them in Japan? They're a bit soft and mushy whenever i've prepared whole scallops, maybe they aren't that great eaten raw. There's only one way to find out, and I nominate you to be the first egulleter to try!

Edited September 18, 2011 by Prawncrackers (log)

[rarerollingobject]

In the USA we almost never get Scallops with the roe attached or in the shell. You are so lucky

Really?? Why, some kind of crazy regulation, or just custom?? That's very sad, the roe is delicious! Virtually any bog standard Australian fish shop will sell scallops roe on or off, and in shell is pretty common too.

Though someone else was saying it's actually hard to get head-on prawns in the US too, which I find amazing - crazy!

[rarerollingobject]

You're right rro, I don't think i've seen scallop roes eaten raw anywhere either. Scallop sashimi is great, what do they do with them in Japan? They're a bit soft and mushy whenever i've prepared whole scallops, maybe they aren't that great eaten raw. There's only one way to find out, and I nominate you to be the first egulleter to try!

I think I shall, PC..if I'm never heard from again, you'll know what happened!

[rotuts]

Correct:

USA : no heads, no roe.

Edited September 18, 2011 by rotuts (log)

[Country]

In the USA we almost never get Scallops with the roe attached or in the shell. You are so lucky

Really?? Why, some kind of crazy regulation, or just custom??

At least in Maine, and maybe in other states, I think it's a law that scallops have to be shucked on the boat.

[Broken English]

I don't know, I've never heard of it. I can't think why not though, you can only try.

I like to dry them and grind them into a powder to finish dishes.

[_john]

what do they do with them in japan?

the scallop is served raw and the roe is blanched in hot water with a little sake and salt in it. Blanch for about 1min and then cool in ice water. then you can squeeze out the black liquid from the center. let the roe sit in lightly salted cold water for an hour or so. pat dry and store in the fridge. served with the scallop himo (the flappy part with the "eyes" on it) and scallop sashimi. good with a little lemon squeezed over it and eaten with soy sauce like sashimi. to prepare the himo massage it with salt until all the dark areas are rubbed away, blanch very quickly and let it sit in cold water for about 1 hour.

[Paul Bacino]

I have always thought, and when I have bought from Maine , I was told that they are cleaned on the boat before landing. Most still have the attaching mussel which needs removing. But then I see from this web site: https://www.farm-2-market.com/online-store/scallops

Live scallops are available and with roe ?

[dcarch]

Question:

Is that red stuff roe?

When I was in Paris, that was the first time I saw scallops with the red stuff. But every scallop had the red stuff, what happened to the male scallops?

dcarch

[budrichard]

Rod Browne has cultivated the Maine 'Day Boat' scallop trade, so named because the boats go out for only a day, sadly as Posted, Maine Regulations require shucking at sea for whatever reason.

But Browne Trading does sell Taylor Bay farm raised Bay Scallops in the shell by the bag. You can open them with a butter knife and eat everything. I have have on occasion been able to get live scallops in the shell and usually have cooked the roe as I do with all fish roe. I don't know of a culture which eats the roe raw.

I like the prep suggested by one Poster and will try that next time I have some roe of some sort.

Of course the most famous roe in the USA is shad roe, a sublime delicacy!

BTW the problem with ordering from the source Posted is that Overnight Shipping will easily equal the cost of whatever you are purchasing.-Dick

[rarerollingobject]

what do they do with them in japan?

the scallop is served raw and the roe is blanched in hot water with a little sake and salt in it. Blanch for about 1min and then cool in ice water. then you can squeeze out the black liquid from the center. let the roe sit in lightly salted cold water for an hour or so. pat dry and store in the fridge. served with the scallop himo (the flappy part with the "eyes" on it) and scallop sashimi. good with a little lemon squeezed over it and eaten with soy sauce like sashimi. to prepare the himo massage it with salt until all the dark areas are rubbed away, blanch very quickly and let it sit in cold water for about 1 hour.

Hmmm, thanks..will give this a go, though I must say I've never encountered black liquid in the centre. Interested to see what this prep does to the texture.

[rarerollingobject]

Question:

Is that red stuff roe?

When I was in Paris, that was the first time I saw scallops with the red stuff. But every scallop had the red stuff, what happened to the male scallops?

dcarch

Well, I'm no scallop sex expert, but I think they're hermaphrodites and change from female to male at various stages. The red stuff is female roe, and when it's white, it's male er..fertiliser.

I see ones with white coral sometimes. Rarely.

[rarerollingobject]

Correct:

USA : no heads, no roe.

No sense!!

In the USA we almost never get Scallops with the roe attached or in the shell. You are so lucky

Really?? Why, some kind of crazy regulation, or just custom??

At least in Maine, and maybe in other states, I think it's a law that scallops have to be shucked on the boat.

I have always thought, and when I have bought from Maine , I was told that they are cleaned on the boat before landing. Most still have the attaching mussel which needs removing. But then I see from this web site: https://www.farm-2-market.com/online-store/scallops

Live scallops are available and with roe ?

Rod Browne has cultivated the Maine 'Day Boat' scallop trade, so named because the boats go out for only a day, sadly as Posted, Maine Regulations require shucking at sea for whatever reason.

But Browne Trading does sell Taylor Bay farm raised Bay Scallops in the shell by the bag. You can open them with a butter knife and eat everything. I have have on occasion been able to get live scallops in the shell and usually have cooked the roe as I do with all fish roe. I don't know of a culture which eats the roe raw.

I like the prep suggested by one Poster and will try that next time I have some roe of some sort.

Of course the most famous roe in the USA is shad roe, a sublime delicacy!

BTW the problem with ordering from the source Posted is that Overnight Shipping will easily equal the cost of whatever you are purchasing.-Dick

Sounds like no roe is the go. Unbelievable..I mean, I could understand shucking for transportation to the far inland states of the US, since the roes are so perishable but it seems a shame that they're shucked even for sale in Maine. The regulated world is often a very sad place, I say.

I'm going to try them raw..is it THAT different from eating sea urchin, which I do all the time? And if I was diving and found a scallop, I can see myself prying it open and slurping it down with no hesitation. Let's just hope I get particularly fresh ones!

Updating my will as we speak,

RRO

[Country]

Unbelievable..I mean, I could understand shucking for transportation to the far inland states of the US, since the roes are so perishable but it seems a shame that they're shucked even for sale in Maine. The regulated world is often a very sad place, I say.

RRO

I called the Maine DMR (Dep't of Marine Resources) today to find out more about this. Got transfered here and there - mostly to voice mails - and never did get an answer. Maybe I'll try calling the law library tomorrow...

[Blether]

... Updating my will as we speak,

RRO

Caw canny there, RRO. If it's seafood and the Japanese don't eat it raw, there tends to be a good reason. Shime-saba because mackerel pests migrate from gut to flesh upon death; katsuo tataki because katsuo pests go the other way (I hope I've got these the right way round).

[rarerollingobject]

... Updating my will as we speak,

RRO

Caw canny there, RRO. If it's seafood and the Japanese don't eat it raw, there tends to be a good reason. Shime-saba because mackerel pests migrate from gut to flesh upon death; katsuo tataki because katsuo pests go the other way (I hope I've got these the right way round).

Caw canny..that's "be careful", not "DO IT, DO IT NOW!!", right?

But yes, that's exactly what I was thinking..if the Japanese don't do it..

However, I can't resist the scientific discovery angle of just TRYING it..curiosity killed the Kate.

[rarerollingobject]

I called the Maine DMR (Dep't of Marine Resources) today to find out more about this. Got transfered here and there - mostly to voice mails - and never did get an answer. Maybe I'll try calling the law library tomorrow...

Love your work, Country. Report back if you find anything.

[Mjx]

Found this--http://changents.com/geoffrey-day/blog-posts/basic-food-safety-guide-to-scallops-with-roe--which mentions the usual STX issue, but... that's about it. Then, there is this exciting essay, courtesy of the US government, which is also not remarkably helpful, although it does include a sort of checklist for determining whether or not a given seafood product present a significant hazard: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/Seafood/FishandFisheriesProductsHazardsandControlsGuide/ucm257113.htm.

[dcarch]

May be you can flash/deep-freeze the roe with dry ice first?

dcarch

[Country]

I called the Maine DMR (Dep't of Marine Resources) today to find out more about this. Got transfered here and there - mostly to voice mails - and never did get an answer. Maybe I'll try calling the law library tomorrow...

Love your work, Country. Report back if you find anything.

This morning I got a call from Maine marine patrol warden who told me the reason Maine scalloper's have to shuck aboard the boats is because of red tide which causes PSP, or Paralytic Shellfish Poison. While clam flats and other inshore shellfish harvesting are closed during red tide blooms, scallops are generally caught offshore and there are no closures there. From that I'd guess that PSP can be detected in scallops when they're shucked.

After getting the call I did a net search to find out more and came across this excellent link. Scallops With Roe - Rules, Regulations and Food Safety

RRO, Please read before eating raw scallop roe. No point in getting sick or going to an early grave.

[pastameshugana]

Correct:

USA : no heads, no roe.

Weird. Where I'm at (New Mexico - faaaar from the coast) I've never seen any decent scallops (let alone w/roe), but I am able to get shrimp & prawns with heads on at the grocery.

I know it doesn't apply, but we just were giving our 2nd son crawfish eating lessons on sunday at the chinese buffet (barf) that has (surprisingly) a well stocked vat of boiled craws. Heads and everything.

[OliverB]

I'll have to check next time I go there, but I'm pretty sure I've seen live scallops in the shell in the Asian supermarket here and I've seen prawns etc with heads on as well. But since most of those are usually sold frozen, maybe it's just a size/weight/packaging issue that they cut off the heads?

Of course, might just be yet an other silly overprotective food law here in the land of the free...

[FrogPrincesse]

I've had scallop crudo in France with the roe attached, and it's delicious. They were just sliced very thinly, and seasonned with a little bit of lime juice. They were very fresh of course - in France we buy them in the shell.