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Has anyone tried bowfin caviar?

Started by Guest_Skipjack_* , Nov 11 2013 08:26 PM

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20 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 11 November 2013 - 08:26 PM

I am thinking of ordering some. It is fairly inexpensive compared to some other varieties. I just want to try it, mostly because, I just love bowfin. I am not schooled in caviar, and my palate would probably not differentiate $7.50 per ounce caviar versus $50.00 per ounce caviar. Next I will try Fugu and then take the leap to making my very own Lepisosteus caviar. Wish me luck on the last two. :^o

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#2 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 11 November 2013 - 08:42 PM

I remember bowfin caviar being discussed a while back on some fishing forums, but haven't heard of anyone trying it. Let us know what you think!

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#3 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 11 November 2013 - 09:07 PM

I will let you know. Also I will send you a small jar of my gar caviar. I am only offering the gar caviar to people I really like.

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#4 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 08:30 AM

Those who eat gar caviar will be your friends forever, yes?

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#5 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 09:29 AM

I have had bowfin caviar. To my untrained pallet it, like that coming from paddlefish and shovelnose sturgeon, it is not all that exciting unless you are interested in trying to impress a fellow "uppity person". Not all folks may be catching the gar caviar joke so I suggest strongly not eating or giving it to a friend or "a friend".

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#6 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 10:50 AM

You should send some gar caviar to Casper, he being of the mushroom hunting ilk. Mix it in with some random caviar samples. Hey, you only live once!

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#7 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 01:36 PM

Yes, please don't take me seriously, and try making gar caviar. It has toxic protiens that will make you very ill.

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#8 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 05:17 PM

Do they raise bowfin for this purpose, or are these wild caught? If wild caught, I can't even process what it might taste like, all I can think about are all those baby bowfin that will never be...

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#9 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 06:13 PM

Fish fillet sampling for contaminants by NC Division of Water Quality shows that bowfin often contain higher levels of mercury than most other fish, and warns against eating them. (They are also illegal to sell in NC for this reason). Does the mercury content (and/or other pollutants) in fish roe tend to follow the content in the meat, or is it unrelated? I would suspect that roe would tend to concentrate the fat-soluble contaminants. Also do northern bowfin have high Hg content too, or is this a southern phenomenon? Anybody got info?

Derek - Far as I know they're wild fish. I dont think anybody is farming bowfin for caviar. Caviar is quite a wasteful industry for those species where the whole fish isn't consumed.

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#10 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 12 November 2013 - 06:29 PM

I guess I have so say this, I would prefer to see someone harvest the caviar than pitch them on the bank, which seems to be the traditional use for bowfin.

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#11 Guest_Casper_*

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Posted 13 November 2013 - 05:38 PM

I like to try just about anything, but homemade caviar might not be for me. Recently while in Florida for the Tates Hell adventure i got to try some deep fried caviar, straight from a fresh caught pregnant mullet. Andrew Zimmer rates it a minus 3 on a 1 to 10 scale.

I guess the Bizarre Foods host does not syn with the local "uppity folks" along the forgotten coast.
No one else at the table would try any, which is shameful for those who claim themselves fish enthusiasts. We eat Chickens, we eat Chicken Eggs, we eat Fish, but they would not try Fish Eggs. Hum.
It was ok, not as good as a plate of fresh smoked mullet dip with Saltines and Crystal hot sauce at hand.
At the local Chinese Buffets you can get flying fish caviar... those are the little, orange, round tiny eggs sprinkled on top of some of the sushi rolls. I will scrap off a spoonful when no one is looking... tasty.
Maybe one day i will get to try properly prepared Paddlefish or Sturgeon caviar.

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#12 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 14 November 2013 - 08:14 AM

Good thing is that the whole fish really is used in this case. Most Bowfin caviar is processed in Lousiana where the fish is actually eaten. In my opinion Bowfin caviar is on level with Paddlefish if not a little better. Generally it is not processed with much salt so has a rich taste and texture. One of my favorites and usually keep a jar in the fridge whenever I can.

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#13 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 14 November 2013 - 08:22 AM

Hey Richard! Good to hear about the caviar, Even better to hear from you. Come around more often would ya. And give me a holler sometime. I'd like to hear about the new job. Actually you should start a thread, and give us a virtual tour of the aquarium.

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#14 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 12:54 AM

$9.50/ounce (www.olmafood,com). And they are the MANUFACTURER

Below that, at the very bottom of the caviar scale, is pike caviar at $9. Here in MS, we have an even lower grade - you would know it as "crawdad berries".

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#15 Guest_FirstChAoS_*

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 02:17 AM

Olmafood sells dried goldfish? Who would eat dried goldfish?

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#16 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 09:35 AM

$9.50/ounce (www.olmafood,com). And they are the MANUFACTURER

Below that, at the very bottom of the caviar scale, is pike caviar at $9. Here in MS, we have an even lower grade - you would know it as "crawdad berries".

The crawdad berries vary considerably flavor-wise based on species, stage od ripeness and what crayfish consumed while building up ovaries.

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#17 Guest_steve_*

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Posted 22 November 2013 - 11:58 AM

I've never wanted to spend the money on caviar, but deep fried Micropterus eggs are mighty tasty.

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#18 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 23 November 2013 - 12:11 AM

Well, deep-fried ANYTHING is tasty. Would you eat them as nature intended - that is the question.

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#19 Guest_steve_*

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Posted 23 November 2013 - 07:35 AM

Good point, but fire and melted animal fat seem fairly natural to me.

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#20 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 23 November 2013 - 09:19 AM

Several years ago a supplier took me on a guided fishing trip. The guides feel it's important to take every fish in legal limit. At the end of the day I was left with several gravid sauger that nobody wanted to fillet. After filleting the fish, I took the eggs and tried to make sauger caviar out of them. They tasted exactly how the river smelled with a lot of salt and a hint of fish fat. I'm not trying to compare my caviar making skills to those that "manufacture" it, but I'd try just about any fish eggs salted or otherwise provided the source waters were good.