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1
Make brine. The goal is to make a saturated salt solution, i.e dissolve as much salt as possible in water. Combine water and salt, stir until salt is completely dissolved. This may take up to 10 minutes of continuous stirring. If salt is still not dissolved after 10 minutes, add 1 tablespoon of water and stir some more. If a little bit of salt still remains, it's OK to proceed.
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2
Clean salmon roe. Fresh salmon roe comes in a clear membranous sac. We need to separate individual fish eggs from the membrane without rupturing the eggs. To do that, use a teaspoon or a table knife. Place it behind the eggs, press down carefully and slide along the membrane to push the eggs out of the membrane sac.
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3
Cure salmon roe. Add clean salmon roe to brine. Stir once, very gently, and let stand for 15 minutes. Don't worry if roe becomes wrinkly and whitish in appearance. This is normal. After 15 minutes, drain brine off. At this point, the caviar is technically ready to eat. I usually let is stand overnight in the fridge before eating. If, after standing in the fridge overnight, caviar still appears wrinkly, add 1-2 tbsp water and stir very gently to let caviar absorb the liquid. This should plump it up.
