Bottarga (aka botargo, boutargue, poor man’s caviar) is a Mediterranean delicacy made from the roe pouch of a tuna or grey mullet fish that has been dried and sea salt cured for several weeks. Once it has dried and become very dense it is coated in black beeswax for better preservation.
 
This is yellow fin tuna bottarga. Tuna bottarga is particularly popular in Sicily, but also enjoyed in Sardinia and other regions on the Mediterranean Sea.
 
Bottarga is usually thinly sliced or grated over finished food rather than being cooked. Just like truffles, its full aroma and flavor is unlocked by the residual warmth of the food, but will be ruined by strong or prolonged heat.

Storage: Store bottarga in your refrigerator. When cooking with it, try to leave as much wax on the unused portion as possible for better storage.

Shelf Life: Up to a year.

Bottarga is most often used as a finishing ingredient. First cook your food, then trim some of the beeswax off one side of the bottarga piece, and grate or shave some of the exposed roe over the finished dish. Serve immediately.
 
If adding it to recipes that do not call for it, plan on reducing the total amount of salt in the dish to account for bottarga’s salty flavor. Taste a little bottarga first, and if you feel it will overwhelm the rest of your food with this salt content, slice it thinly and gently rinse the slices. You can then either add the slices as they are, or dice/mince them first.
 
Tuna bottarga is a great addition to dishes originally from Sicily. Try it on pasta, rice, toast (with lemon, black pepper and olive oil) or salads.