Heaven, I’m in heaven…some cracked pepper, light flour dusting, saute (lightly) in butter, garlic, and lemon.
What to drink with it? Usually Cabernet Franc, Loire-like.
Shad, eh? Have you read John McPhee’s Founding Fish? It’s been a while, but it is a good read, like all McPhee. One of his scientific informers for that book was on my dissertation committee.
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Yes, I have read that, David.
I’m a McPhee fan–great writing skills even when he tells tales of things that don’t interest me, but that was not the case with shad, although he and I have separate interest in the fish…
Unfortunately, it’s not here yet. After reading your post I checked with Whole Foods to see if they had gotten any yet. He said no they hadn’t seen any yet, but to check back weekly. They’ve had it other years, but lately the variety of seafood they carry has been declining.
I dont think that I’ve ever had this…what would I expect? What is it similar to?
We’ve had shad roe many times over the years. I can’t think of anything that it’s like. The closest is possibly cod roe sashimi. But I’ve never had cod roe cooked.
Most of the shad roe we’ve had, has been cooked in bacon fat and served with the bacon, in restaurants and cooked at home.
It has a slightly grainy texture and a rich flavor.
We’ve enjoyed it from the first time we had it on the Redondo Beach pier in the early 70s at Tony’s.
Maybe I’d like it now - I like lobster tomalley and caviar - but I remember three things my mom made when I was a kid that I hated - tongue (I saw the freakin’ thing before it was carved), scrapple and shad roe.
I still don’t eat most of things I had growing up. But I sure enjoy all the things I’ve discovered since leaving home for college.
Dick, WF in ABQ continues to grow their seafood dept. So check there. Also check Nantucket Shoals there on Academy just east of San Mateo.
If forced to come up with a taste description of shad roe, I’d have to say something stupid like “a cross between caviar and game meat.” It is quite rich. It’s the richness that makes a snappy red wine a better choice than white.
I’ve had it with a bacon wrap, but find that the bacon overshadows that richness that I happen to like–so I scaled my preparation down to the simple flour dusting with a little black pepper and the saute in lemon butter. It’s too easy to overcook the thing–then, it tastes like hard salt!
The insides–the many roe–should be rare, as in caviar.
As for eating things now that I wouldn’t eat back then–I have been blessed with a taste system that can take just about anything thrown at it. The two or three things I won’t eat, however, stem either from a childhood memory (mac and cheese) or a distaste for certain sensations (soggy bread or sand-like texture). Luckily, nothing from the sea or the river offers those kinds of sensations, at least not that I’ve come across…