How to eat a sea urchin in Montenegro: detailed instruction

Detailed instruction on consumption of urchins with Slivovitz by Alexander Sopilniak.

There are different types of urchins. We will focus on large, fist-sized sea urchins with short spikes.

That’s what this miracle looks like:

For the preparation of the urchin you will need:

• a sea urchin;
• a knife;
• scissors;
• a teaspoon.

Pay attention to the bottle in the upper right corner of the photo. This is “Slivovitz”. You can compare it with a high quality moonshine. Eating a sea urchin dish with Slivovitz is like drinking tequila with lemon and salt.

Take an urchin freshly caught from the sea in the left hand — it will not resist, so you shouldn’t be afraid. Take the knife in the right hand and punch a hole in the urchin’s side with the tip. It can be cut with scissors too, but a big knife is more convenient.

Then take the scissors, insert them into the hole and open the urchin’s shell like a tin can, cutting it in a circle.

A few cuts and you are good to go.

Urchin’s shell will open like a casket.

After opening the urchin, you’ll see some orange caviar in the form of a starfish inside the shells.

Carefully open the bottle of Slivovitz and pour it into a shot glass (čašica).

Collect the caviar with a teaspoon in your right hand, take a shot with your left hand and immediately eat the caviar.

Enjoy your meal!