tastiest

June 16, 2016 11:07 AM

How To Cook Shad

Shad no longer enjoys the favor it once did. The world’s greatest herring, its Latin name, Alosa sapidissima, means “the best shad to eat.” whole books have been dedicated to singing shad’s praises. George Washington was fond of the fish, and Thomas Jefferson always had it on his spring menus. Every restaurant from the Canadian Maritimes down to Florida would feature shad and its wonderful roe on spring menus; a few still do. Then, in the 1870s, we brought shad West, and the species surpassed anyone’s wildest dream of success. The Columbia River run numbers 3 million or more, even today. In 1917, the commercial shad fishery netted nearly 6 million pounds of shad here in Sacramento. ...So what happened? The fish stocks are fine here in the West, and, after a long struggle, are recovering in the polluted East. What happened was, in a word, laziness.

The Lost Fishery - Shad in California
A Tale Of Shad, Connecticut's State Fish
Shad Are Angling To Once Again Be The Tasty Harbinger Of Spring
How To Make Bony, Invasive Shad Fish Taste Delicious

posted by the man of twists and turns (31 comments total)

Didn't John McPhee write an entire book about the shad?
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 11:13 AM on June 16, 2016 [3 favorites]

Isn't he the host of CBC's Q?
posted by reiichiroh at 11:16 AM on June 16, 2016 [8 favorites]

Man, these Jian Ghomeshi supporters are getting out of hand! Shad's doing a fine job with Q- it's not his fault all that other stuff happened!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:17 AM on June 16, 2016 [7 favorites]

I'd get a whole rack of shad. Then I'd take it to a shack that belongs to me. And then off to a bed I'd now go. It's a three-pronged approach I call:

Shad rack me shack a bed now go.
posted by maxsparber at 11:21 AM on June 16, 2016 [32 favorites]

I'll see myself out.
posted by maxsparber at 11:21 AM on June 16, 2016 [9 favorites]

McPhee did indeed write a book about shad, The Founding Fish. It was good, but I never finished it.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:25 AM on June 16, 2016 [3 favorites]

Came here to make a joke about Shad the rapper/host of Q, sees others have beat me to it.

You are good weird people.
posted by Kitteh at 11:25 AM on June 16, 2016 [4 favorites]

At this point, I have eaten most of the dishes that Nero Wolfe used to have for dinner. Shad roe still eludes me.
posted by praemunire at 11:26 AM on June 16, 2016 [6 favorites]

There used to be a whole tourist industry in the 19th century where people from Philadelphia would ride ferries across the river to New Jersey for planked shad dinners. Which eventually led to pool halls, gambling and brothels. I guess because everything's legal in New Jersey.
posted by interplanetjanet at 11:41 AM on June 16, 2016 [5 favorites]

Nice post.
The decline of shad reminds me of the lost smelt runs of my youth. It used to be a time-honored ritual to go "dippin'" (Along with the requisite all-night drinking, and assorted tomfoolery while you waited for the next run), but now, it's pretty much an extinct past-time...
posted by Chrischris at 11:43 AM on June 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

The shad run on the Potomac is still of interest to local fishermen, from what I can tell (I am the worst at fishing, but I enjoy reading about other people's exploits), and there's a few places in the area that have it on the menu seasonally, but I've never tried it. I'm squeamish about fish bones, but it does sound interesting.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:50 AM on June 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Shad roe still eludes me.

It's the toughest street in Halifax. Don't go there along unless you want to get knifed by a homeless cod.
posted by GuyZero at 11:53 AM on June 16, 2016 [12 favorites]

the lost smelt runs of my youth

Quit biting my flavour.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:07 PM on June 16, 2016 [5 favorites]

Shad roe still eludes me.

It's possible we cooked it incredibly wrong every time, but my experience so far says you're not missing much.

The fish itself is okay, and I'd be happy to try it again from a skilled chef.

The pickled version on the other hand...
posted by dragoon at 12:14 PM on June 16, 2016

. . . its Latin name, Alosa sapidissima, means “the best shad to eat.”

TIL "sapidissima" means "most delicious" in Latin, which is bound to come in handy some time. (Sock puppet?)
posted by The Bellman at 12:45 PM on June 16, 2016 [3 favorites]

One of my first jobs was dishwasher at The Athenian in the market. The owners had cases and cases of canned shad roe in storage. It was a lifetime supply for the entire city.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 12:49 PM on June 16, 2016

Broiled shad roe with a rasher of bacon at Sweet's in NYC. Ah, memories!

Never ordered the fish, however.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 12:56 PM on June 16, 2016

Shad planking is still a thing in Virginia, but they are trying to rebrand it as a shad & wine & booze festival. And the local shad fishery has never recovered from the damage done in the 20th century.
posted by tavella at 1:41 PM on June 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

seems like it would be a great pickle — but seriously, now I have to go eat this during the season, starting at Grand Central and moving out to those planks..
posted by mumimor at 2:01 PM on June 16, 2016

In 200 years Metafilter will feature a post on how to cook Nutria.

"Americans hundreds of years ago christened it because of how good it tastes, and now it's one of the few animals that can still survive outside the domes! What happened to this historied dish?"
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:14 PM on June 16, 2016 [9 favorites]

Years ago a friend of mine did fisheries research in CA rivers and streams. I was regularly updated to the vast numbers of non-native fish he bludgeoned. That's after shocking them unconscious with some kinda Ghostbusters backpack, of course.
posted by xtian at 3:14 PM on June 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

Amelanchier canadensis, known as serviceberry, sarvisberry, chuckleberry and current-tree, is also known as shadblow because here in Maryland it blooms at the same time the shad are running.

Shad is ok but bony. Shad roe probably tasted better when one had fewer options for springtime meals.
posted by acrasis at 4:21 PM on June 16, 2016

In 20 years Metafilter will feature a post on how to cook Nutria Long-Tailed Swamp Rabbit.


It's decent jerky but really sells as dog snax.


Ghostbusters backpack,

You mean a smith root electrofisher? it's totally cheating.
posted by eustatic at 5:17 PM on June 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Shad are usually the bait, yeah? why would you eat the bait?
posted by eustatic at 6:12 PM on June 16, 2016

Shad is fantastic. It's a welcome sign of spring here in D.C. It's best to buy fillets already boned--you have to buy a whole fillet, because getting the bones out requires a special machine, but it's not expensive, and it is just delicious.

Shad roe is one of my favorite dishes. Shad roe and ramps--springtime on a plate. It's a little tricky to cook because the little eggs can start bursting, which leads to liquid mixing with hot butter--you get the idea. Dredge that sucker in flour first, and cook on medium heat until golden.

If you're in D.C. when the shad are running, head to Fletcher's Cove, rent a rowboat, and have a good old time.
posted by oneironaut at 7:14 PM on June 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

In 200 years Metafilter will feature a post on how to cook Nutria.

"Americans hundreds of years ago christened it because of how good it tastes, and now it's one of the few animals that can still survive outside the domes! What happened to this historied dish?"

"Archeologists believe that it was eaten on ceremonial occasions, and always served on a plate of kudzu."
posted by Dip Flash at 7:23 PM on June 16, 2016 [3 favorites]

For those who care, it's New Catch Herring season right now, according to Russ and Daughters.
posted by old_growler at 7:50 PM on June 16, 2016

Once, at the end of a high school debate tournament around Portland during the Shad Festival or Shad Celebration or Shad Family Days, who the fuck knows, a kid giving an extemporaneous speech had a shad in his pocket, took it out, and bit the head off the fish. Fact.

I don't know, it was a kid from a small town on the Columbia and they were really proud of their Shad Family Days.
posted by angrycat at 6:56 AM on June 17, 2016 [3 favorites]

I don't know anything about Shad, but the mention of smelt runs and invasive species reminded me of this recent article: This community is combating an invasive species by eating them.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 8:46 AM on June 17, 2016

Amelanchier canadensis, known as serviceberry, sarvisberry, chuckleberry and current-tree, is also known as shadblow because here in Maryland it blooms at the same time the shad are running.

Not to mention that those are some damn fine common names for it!

I'm a big fan of smelt, but my only encounters with shad were shad runs in the St. Clair River when I fished there as a kid, and you would end up snagging them by accident. The old timers at the river would grumble about them being "garbage fish," so I assumed that was the case. Thanks to this post, I now know they were wrong.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:22 PM on June 17, 2016

"Archeologists believe that it was eaten on ceremonial occasions, and always served on a plate of kudzu."

"The tables at these ceremonies were usually adorned with vases containing purple loosestrife, and steamed zebra mussels were often served as an amuse bouche in advance of the meal."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:25 PM on June 17, 2016 [1 favorite]