Sea Urchin in Shell

[9lives]

Was in Chinatown today and stopped into the little market next to Best Little Restaurant, just for a look. Their seafood is usually a cut above CMart's and I spotted a bag of live Maine sea urchins. I already had lunch to go but I had to try 1. Briny with a great fresh taste. A little difficult to work with, without the right tools; but got through with one small scrape..:)

[RoyRon]

Two weeks ago I was in Sendai, Japan and was treated to a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called Sendaihan. There were 14 people and numerous kaiseki (seasonal) courses but one of the absolute stand outs was the fresh Hokkaido Uni right from the shell. It was served along with an equally fresh raw Japanese prawn. Picture attached. The entire dinner was served with an amazing selection of the best sakes from that region was a true culinary experience. I'm just thankful that I wasn't the person picking up the tab because at 78 Japanese yen to the US$ this dinner would cost over $400.00 per person .

[cigalechanta]

I use a scissor

[steinpilz]

Are these the black spined urchins or the green ones? I'm expecting that they're the green ones (I've gotten them at Court House), if so has anyone ever seen live black spined urchins in a market around here?

[9lives]

Green, i haven't seen the black spined ones.

[steinpilz]

Just saw this - live California purple/black sea urchin at Sakanaya in Alston!

https://twitter.com/#!/SakanayaBoston...

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Sakanaya
75 Linden St, Boston, MA 02134

[Bellachefa]

ttt

[tammyh]

I almost stepped on a bunch when I was vacaying in Curacao ... should've made myself a snack!

[StriperGuy]

I think all of the Caribbean ones are inedible. I know the ones around the US Virgin islands are not at all edible. Mediterranean ones are.

[9lives]

I ate sea urchin in Guadeloupe. It was much milder than Maine, SoCal, or Japan..sort of whitish in color. Never saw it served raw but it made a great sauce served over fish. Was told the spines give a nasty sting.

[StriperGuy]

hmmm...

[Bellachefa]

I only had sea urchin once, many years ago at some sushi joint in Kenmore Square. And it was the very last time I swallowed something I found horrendous, to be polite and then turn green.

You make me think that I should take a second shot at it, but only right out of the shell, right out of the ocean with someone who can shuck. Do you shuck them or just basically tackle them?

[9lives]

eta..hopefully here's a better pic..

http://www.google.com/search?q=sea+ur...

These were smaller than a baseball with green spines.

If you didn't like it the first time, I'd encourage you to try it again (only because I love it), but if you had it served fresh, don't expect a freshly opened 1 to be too different from what you can get at a good sushi joint. They're normally sold to sushi bars in small wooden or plastic trays and keep well for a few days if properly chilled.

[StriperGuy]

I've plucked them from the sea myself, and they rock!

[justbeingpolite]

My father's got lots of spines in his hands from opening them. Going from the beak with a scissors seems like a smart idea. There used to be thousands of 'em off the coast on the North Shore, they seem pretty fished out/picked over now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZF7F9...

[StriperGuy]

You just need a glove and a good knife.

[kobuta]

I'd urge you to consider giving it another try and at a better place where you know the quality of the seafood is good. If you were in Kenmore Square, I hope it wasn't Maluken that you went to. While Maluken has some passable non-sushi fare, the one time I've been, I decided to pass on the sushi given the vibe of the place. Now maybe others can chime in and tell me how completely wrong I am, but I don't think this place should provide any definitive experience with fresh quality seafood.

That being said, sea urchin has to be fresh, and once it even starts to get "un-fresh" (?) the taste gets pretty nasty IMO. I for years was led to believe that sea urchin tasted like (excuse my uncouthness) a solidified 'fart' -- bad experience at a mediocre sushi bar. But once I had the real deal in Japan, and then sought it out at better sushi places, I really enjoyed the taste. I now buy a palette of the stuff and make everything from sushi, pasta to eggs with it.

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Maluken
645 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02215

[StriperGuy]

Totally agree. Of all seafood, freshness is MOST important with urchins above pretty much any other. One even slightly stale urchin is just yuck.

[9lives]

yes, that's what I was trying to say above. I imagine a spoiled urchin would be pretty nasty. I had a friend who ate a bad oyster, got very sick and was turned off to oysters for years. He described the taste and it was a genuinely spoiled oyster. It took him a few years, but he finally tried a fresh one..and grew to love oysters.

There are various degrees of freshness, but once the line has been crossed into spoiled..stay away. Urchin or any shellfish are particularly susceptible.

[LStaff]

Tin snips and a leather work glove.

[barleywino]

great tip-- what's the right tool for this?

[Nab]

i think i saw 9lives sitting on a milk-crate with the urchin between his feet on the edge of the street curb stabbing it with his keys :)

[9lives]

I briefly consided a key..:)

[9lives]

I'm not sure but defnitely not a pen and plastic utensils on a wooden desk..:)

Seriously a glove to hold the spiny thing and a good sharp knife to slice off the bottom, then just spoon it out. These are much smaller than the Santa Barbara ones I've seen at Uni..probably need 6-8 for a decent serving.

[barleywino]

so a nutcracker wouldn't work? (not that i carry one around with me)

[9lives]

nutcracker would need to be pretty big, would make a huge mess, and you'd still be getting stuck with those spines. I like the scissors idea below..maybe poultry shears.

[emannths]

Take a look at some youtube videos of it--you'll get the idea.