Fresh sea urchins
- Difficulty :
- Preparation time : 3 to 5 min per sea urchin
- Type of dish : Entrée et apéro
A creation of the Exploramer tean and Uni-Que.
Preparation
Set-up
- Prepare two bowls, one for scraps and above which you can open the sea urchins, and the other to place the corals (edible part).
- Put a rubber glove on the hand that you will use to hold the sea urchin (optional).
- Use sharp-pointed kitchen scissors.
Opening the sea urchin
- With your gloved hand, hold the sea urchin bottom side up (i.e. with the spikes in the palm of your hand).
- In the middle of the sea urchin’s underside is its mouth, which is recognizable by the presence of 5 small white teeth. Insert the scissor blade into the edge of the mouth (this is the softest part of the sea urchin’s shell, or “test”).
- Cut a line and then a complete circle from the ventral portion of the sea urchin to completely remove the cap. Discard the cap.
- With a small spoon, remove the orange-coloured corals or “roe” (actually the reproductive organs), which is the edible part. Place the corals in a small bowl or directly in a tasting spoon. Discard the shell.
For the tasting
- Enjoy fresh and plain, or like an oyster with a pinch of white pepper and a dash of lemon juice.
- The green sea urchin can also be used to flavour sauces, soups, mayonnaise and more.
Informations
Video length: 2 minutes and 28 seconds
Video and credit: Uni-Que
Transcript
[Music begins.]
[Title : “Comment ouvrir un oursin frais” avec des photos d’oursins frais et d’autres décortiqués.]
[View of what you will need : a bowl with water, scissors, a teaspoon, paper towel and three sea urchins.]
[Shot of hand putting salt in the bowl of water and mixing it. Instructions displayed: “Put salt in the water and mix well”.]
[Bowl of water put aside. The hands take a sea urchin and insert the scissors on the edge of the mouth. Instructions displayed: “Enter scissors from the mouth”.]
[A circle around the mouth is cut. Instructions: “And cut all around”.]
[A hand removes the top cut-out, sets down the rest of the sea urchin and cuts the other two sea urchins, in fast motion.]
[A hand take the teaspoon and, using the tip of the spoon, peels the gonad from the shell. Instructions displayed: “Take the tip of the spoon, scoop around carefully, scrape the bottom”.]
[The bowl of water is brought back in the shot and the sea urchin is emptied into it.]
[The same process goes for the other two sea urchins, in fast motion.]
[The bowl of water is brought back to the center. Instructions: “Time to clean up the gut”.]
[A hand takes the paper towel closer to the bowl. It takes a gonad and removes the top black pieces. Instructions: “Remove any black tubes”.]
[The hand shows a clean gonad closer to the camera, then put it on the paper towel. The process starts all over again for the rest of the gonad, in fast motion.]
[The bowl of water is put aside and the paper towel, full of sea urchin’s gonads is brought closer to the camera. Instructions: “Ready to serve!”.]
[Music stops.]
En savoir plus
How to open green sea urchins? Uni-Que gives us their technique and show us the steps to fully enjoy this sea treasures.
This project was made possible through funding from Digital Museums Canada and the participation and collaboration of Université Laval.
© 2025 A Wave of Flavours
