Simple egg cure

Lipripper · 10-01-2001, 06:37 PM

I need a simple cure for silver eggs. I was wondering if I just put them in a brine of salt and sugar roll them in borax and vacumn pack them can I then add color and scents etc.. at a later time? What mix of salt to sugar do you use? All my eggs have been vacumn packed and frozen uncured. I have read here that I need to cure them before I freeze them. I have searched to archives for RT's mix that was published in STS but the archives only go back to 2000. Can any one help me? Thank you.

Lund · 10-01-2001, 06:58 PM

scott amerman sells his cure and it is really good. know several people who caught lots of fish this weekend with it.

his web site is at the top of the page.
amerman eggs

Hookset · 10-01-2001, 07:03 PM

It's true, eggs should be cured before freezing to protect the outer membrane from rupturing while thawing out. Mix the color into the borax and apply at the same time. Borax will dry the eggs so color needs to be applied early. I really don't have a favorite egg cure recipe. Have tried many different versions over the years. If I was going to make up a batch, I'd use 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt to every cup of borax and 1 box of rasberry jello to every pound of borax. I've also added some sodium sulfite to this mix before too.

Like I said, I do not have a favorite since I have witnessed other people fishing nearby landing more fish then my recipe has. So I know there are better egg cures.

So, if this was me, armed with this knowledge, I'd admit defeat and buy some Amerman eggs and/or cure. I know several people using Amerman's eggs and I believe they now sell an egg cure. From what I'm told, there eggs and cures are the best around. I still haven't tried their product yet, but I've resigned myself to start......soon.

good luck with your search,

Gregg

FM2 · 10-01-2001, 07:39 PM

Hey Pat, it's about time you got around to curing all those eggs. I have a "top secret" cure that I will cure your eggs with but I get half.. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] just kidding. But I do have a killer cure from a friend who did a write up in this months STS and I have outfished others in the same hole when using the same setup.

Vinny · 10-01-2001, 08:11 PM

At Ifish 2001 I bought both the Amerman cure for attracting steelhead and for attracting salmon. I spoke with Scott Amerman on the phone the week prior. He was very helpful, and took the time to educate me. I believe that his number is on his website. Here's what I remember from last month, second hand (that's my disclaimer [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] ).

1) They sell two colors in each the salmon and steelhead cures.

2) The steelhead cure is to attract steelhead. The steelhead cure can be used with any eggs (or other bait for that matter). Likewise, the salmon cure is to
attract salmon.

3) All 4 cures (2 colors for each) will catch salmon and/or steelhead.

4) The "salmon red" is their most universal and most used cure. (That's the one to buy if you're just buying one.)

5) The Amerman's will ship their cures and/or eggs to you.

6) Scott said that the first thing he does when he gets home from fishing is to tend to the eggs.

7) Amerman cures do NOT contain borax, just other secret stuff (I didn't ask.)

My advice. If you think that you might someday have eggs or other bait to cure. Order the cure now.

Order the cure, have it on hand. I was fortunate I only wasted about 4 skiens and 10 hours messing with do-it-yourself borax-salt-sugar-dye recipes, brines, etc.

Amerman's cure is quick, easy and effective.

After I was done, I had a thought that Redneck, Reel Y'all, and Cool Tex could relate to, "AIN'T THEM PURDY!!" [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] For the rest of us the translation is, "Those are very pretty eggs, obviously of high quality and they possess a brilliant red lustre." [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

They were that bright red you can't get with red dye, because red food coloring is too dark! Why, because it's intended to be mixed with white stuff like icing and cake.

Finally, Scott if I've misquoted you, I apologize.
I will email a copy of this to the Scott Amerman in the event he has some corrections or feels the need to chastise me publicly.

[ 10-01-2001: Message edited by: Vinny ]

10-01-2001, 10:05 PM

Lipper', you should always cure eggs before you freeze them. However, frozen uncured eggs can be 'rescued' to a fishable state. I suggest making a brine and putting the frozen eggs right in for a combined thawing curing at the same time. This will allow the salt to toughen the outer egg sacks some before they thaw out, so less membrane breakage will occur.

As for brines, I haven't used them for some time. Those who do can add to or correct my recollection of a brine recipe. Use a gallon of distilled water. Add 2 cups of salt, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup of borax, 1/2 cup Pro Glo red coloring powder (not the cure), and 1/8 cup of MSG. If the eggs were a bit mature and loose prior to freezing them I suggest also adding 1/2 cup of sodium sulfite to the brine to further toughen them. Leave the eggs in the brine for about a half hour after they have thawed out and the skeins have parted. Then drain and paper towell them, followed by a several hours of drying time on a rack at room temperature or in a de-humidifying refridgerator. If they are still a bit gooey, roll them in borax and store in the fridge until using them. Since these will not have the concentration of preservatives of a dry powder curing process they may not last as long in the fridge before starting to obtain negative oder. Monitor them and put what you haven't used in vacu-packed jars and into the freezer. They will then be re-frozen eggs and likely be even faster milkers - maybe good for tidewater use or murky water use for such as O.C. Willamette springers with a live sandshrimp added.

RT

Vinny · 10-02-2001, 07:44 AM

Question for RT,

How does the color come out from the Pro Glo powder?

Where do you get sodium sulfite (and the pro glo powder for that matter)?

I'm gonna stick with Amerman's for now.

10-02-2001, 04:08 PM

Good comprehensive tackle shops usually have both the PG coloring powder and containers of sodium sulfite. My guess is that it's in short supply because of all the many hens caught this late summer/early fall so far. ...

As for Beau-Mac Co.'s Pro Glo coloring powder, it is the best I've found for using with my own customized cure. The crystal looking powder mixes well right into the dry chem cure mixes; or stock white/natural cures. It puts in a great looking color I would call 'hot cerise' - they call it Red Hot I think (it looks kind of dark purple in the container). Amerman's egg cure developes the exact same color as the Pro Glo red hot cure (same color the coloring powder achieves) when mixing like amounts into separate glasses of water for comparison. However, one is slightly more cloudy due to different ingredients; just the color is the same. I've been experimenting with combos of dry powdered food coloring, which is non-toxic smelling and tasting, and like the results; just not as well as the Pro-Glo coloring though.

RT